YouTube TV Has Reached An Agreement To Restore Access To Disney Channels For Subscribers

Disney and YouTube TV have agreed to bring back over a dozen Disney-owned channels to Google's internet TV streaming service.

In a tweet, YouTube TV wrote: "We're happy to announce that we've reached a deal with Disney and have already started to restore access to channels like ESPN and FX, and Disney recordings that were previously in your Library.”

The news comes after the two sides failed to reach an agreement before their contract ended on 17 December. As reported, customers were then notified that they would lose access to ESPN, Disney, FX, and other Disney-owned assets if the contract was not renewed.

While announcing the latest update on the deal with Disney, in a blog post YouTube TV said that it had secured an arrangement with Disney to bring its content back to YouTube TV while keeping the monthly price at $64.99 for the users.

“As we promised a $15 discount while the Disney content remained off-platform, we will still honour a one-time credit for all impacted members,” it added.

YouTube TV also stated that an active member, who has not yet received the $15 monthly bill discount, will automatically receive a one-time credit on the next bill with no action required. It noted that “for members who were impacted and have initiated the cancellation process, we would love to welcome you back”.

None of these companies disclosed the financial terms of the deal. Meanwhile, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, in a statement said: “We are pleased to announce that after a brief disruption, we have reached a new distribution agreement with Google’s YouTube TV for continued carriage of our portfolio of networks.”

“We appreciate Google’s collaboration to reach fair terms that are consistent with the market, and we’re thrilled that our robust lineup of live sports and news plus kids, family and general entertainment programming is in the process of being restored to YouTube TV subscribers across the country,” it added.

YouTube TV is in the top tier of pay-tv distributors, with an estimated three to four million customers only in the United States. With Disney's enormous assortment of networks and high-end content, both parties were motivated to reach an agreement.

Additionally, YouTube and streaming platform Roku Inc announced a multi-year deal earlier in December to distribute YouTube's flagship app and TV service. The two had been at conflict over a contract extension, arguing over what Roku called Google's onerous requests for additional data and prominent placement on its devices.

In that case, if they didn't strike an agreement, Google planned to remove the YouTube app from Roku, which would be a loss for everyone involved, especially Roku customers who would have lost access to a crucial video provider.

However, after the deal, Roku said that the arrangement is a "multi-year extension" for YouTube and YouTube TV.