Credit: DisneyThe Walt Disney Company is reportedly losing as much as $5 million daily during its ongoing feud with Google-owned YouTube TV. All Disney networks have been suspended from the platform since October 30, when their previous carriage deal ended.
According to The New York Times, Disney charges providers roughly $15 per month for each subscriber to their ESPN channels. Awful Announcing reports that YouTube TV has ten million monthly subscribers, which translates to approximately $150 million per month for Disney, solely for its ESPN channels.
This doesn’t include ABC, the Disney Channel, or other affiliated networks–on ESPN channels alone, The Walt Disney Company is losing $5 million daily during the YouTube TV blackout.
Initially, it sounds like Disney is the loser here: YouTube TV gets to keep that $5 million (plus the fee it would pay the Mouse for other channels) daily. However, the longer the feud persists, the more subscribers may become frustrated with not having access to the channels they pay for and may leave YouTube TV for other providers.
On Monday, Inside the Magic reported that The Walt Disney Company had requested that YouTube TV restore ABC for Election Day coverage on Tuesday, November 4. However, YouTube TV refused. Google says Disney is being “unnecessarily aggressive” in carriage deal negotiations, demanding payment for channels that customers aren’t using.
“There are aspects of their portfolio that are doing well on our platform, especially sports,” a representative for YouTube TV said. “Disney has a very broad portfolio of channels where viewership on many networks is in decline or non-existent.”
However, Disney says Google is not seeking a “fair deal.”
YouTube TV has promised paid subscribers a $20 credit if Disney-owned channels are available for an extended period, but hasn’t specified when this credit will take effect. Some subscribers have already received a $10 credit on their account, but that isn’t available to everyone.
How long do you think this streaming feud will go on? Share your opinion with Inside the Magic in the comments!