Disney and YouTube TV reach deal ending weeks of disruption

By Harshita Mary Varghese and Dheeraj Kumar (Reuters) -Google's YouTube and Walt Disney said on Friday they had reached an agreement to restore Disney-owned networks to YouTube TV, after a fee dispute left millions of subscribers without access to U.S. Election Day programming and major live sports events. The full line-up of Disney channels including ABC, ESPN, FX and National Geographic will return to YouTube TV from Friday, the companies said in separate statements. Additionally, ESPN's full line-up of sports, including content from ESPN Unlimited, will be available to base-plan subscribers at no additional cost by the end of 2026, according to YouTube. The dispute, centered around carriage fees, or the per-subscriber rates distributors pay to carry broadcast and cable networks, had caused Disney's channels to go dark on October 30 on one of the largest pay-TV services in the U.S. Walt Disney did not immediately respond to a query about the financial terms of the deal. YouTube said it was not disclosing the deal's terms. CNBC reported last week that Disney sought rates comparable to those paid by major distributors, including around $10 a subscriber per month for ESPN. YouTube TV's rapid growth as a pay-TV platform, combined with Google's vast financial resources, gives it greater negotiating leverage with media companies and allows it to operate with less short-term financial pressure than traditional providers. The service has been locked in negotiations and carriage disputes with major media firms that were threatening to pull their networks from the platform.  Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger said on Thursday his company had proposed a deal "equal to or better than what other large distributors have already agreed to," referring to talks with YouTube TV over the dispute. Prospects of a prolonged fight over the distribution of Walt Disney's television networks had worried investors about the outlook for its already declining TV business. Walt Disney missed quarterly revenue expectations as its cable TV weakness overshadowed strong growth in the company's streaming and parks businesses. MISSING KEY EVENTS Sports programming was among the casualties of the dispute, with YouTube TV users unable to watch the November 3 "Monday Night Football" game between the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys.     Disney asked YouTube TV to restore ABC for U.S. Election Day coverage on November 4, citing public interest, but the streaming service rejected the proposal, saying a one-day return would confuse customers.     YouTube said last month Disney used the "threat of a blackout" as a negotiating tactic to force deal terms that would raise prices for its customers.  Walt Disney said YouTube TV was "demanding preferential treatment with lower rates and rejecting terms accepted by other partners, including Disney's own services like Hulu + Live TV and Fubo." The affected Disney networks included FX, National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild, Disney Channel, and ABC News Live. YouTube TV had said it would offer its pay-TV subscribers a $20 credit if the Disney networks remained unavailable on the platform for an extended period of time. After a challenging negotiation period, YouTube TV struck a deal with Comcast-owned NBCUniversal to keep NBC shows such as "Sunday Night Football" and "America's Got Talent" on the platform. Earlier in the year, YouTube TV successfully concluded similarly difficult negotiations with Fox and Paramount, securing continued access to those networks despite initial disputes. (Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese, Dheeraj Kumar and Harshita Meenaktshi in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler, Sriraj Kalluvila and Tom Hogue)

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