Another football weekend has arrived with Disney networks unavailable on YouTube TV amid a highly publicized carriage dispute, and YouTube TV is reportedly prepared to offer a $20 credit to its subscribers if a deal isn’t reached soon, according to The Athletic.
Devon Henderson and Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported on Saturday evening that “The two sides are continuing negotiations as of Saturday, according to that source.”
“Should no agreement be reached by Sunday to return Disney and ESPN channels to YouTube TV, the streaming service will begin notifying subscribers via email that they can redeem a $20 credit toward their next statement, a source briefed on the negotiations said,” Henderson and Marchand added.
YouTube TV told The Athletic that the $20 credits would be issued by Wednesday.
Saturday brought numerous notable college football games on ESPN networks, particularly on ABC, with a lineup featuring No. 7 BYU vs. No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 22 Missouri, and LSU vs. No. 4 Alabama.
The YouTube vs Disney standoff began on Oct. 30 and has led to YouTube TV subscribers missing two weeks of college football, the first week of college basketball, early-season NBA action (which includes Inside the NBA studio coverage), and most notably, a Monday Night Football NFL game between the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys.
While Disney and ESPN executives recently painted a bleak picture of the carriage dispute being resolved soon, it’s at the point where the two sides should have motivation to get a deal done. Monday features an excellent Monday Night Football matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers on ABC and ESPN. If a deal isn’t reached before that game, the noise will get much louder.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.