Disney and YouTube TV reached a new deal, but subscribers think the next big announcement could be a higher price.

ESPN and ABC are back on YouTube TV after a two-week blackout, but subscribers aren’t celebrating for long. With the deal finally done between Disney and Google’s live-streaming platform, fans are now asking the inevitable question — how much will this cost them?

Financial terms of the agreement haven’t been disclosed, but the whispers started the moment the deal was announced. YouTube TV said the new contract “preserves the value of our service for our subscribers,” while Disney praised the deal as “fair and forward-looking.” Those are the kinds of corporate phrases that usually mean one thing: someone’s paying more.

The blackout, which began Oct. 30 and lasted through two full weekends of college football, cost Disney an estimated $30 million per week in lost ad and distribution revenue. ESPN and ABC are two of the biggest draws in sports, and keeping them off the air hit both companies hard. Analysts called it one of the costliest carriage disputes in recent years, with millions of subscribers caught in the middle.

Now that the handshake is done, the attention shifts to the fine print — and potential fallout for consumers.

YouTube TV’s Price History Tells the Story

YouTube TV’s base price has crept up steadily since the service launched in 2017 at $35 per month. As of 2025, the base plan sits at $82.99 per month, after multiple rounds of increases tied to new content deals.

Those deals have almost always involved major media companies like Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, or NBCUniversal. Each renewal adds new channels or sports packages, and each one eventually bumps the monthly rate higher.

So when YouTube TV insists the new deal “maintains value,” subscribers are understandably skeptical.

Here’s how previous deals have affected YouTube TV’s pricing over time:

• 2017 launch: $35 per month with 40 channels.
• 2018: Price raised to $40 after Turner and sports networks added.
• 2020: Jumped to $64.99 with ViacomCBS bundle.
• 2023: Increased to $72.99 following NFL Sunday Ticket acquisition.
• 2024: Reached $82.99 after expanded sports and entertainment deals.

If history repeats, Disney’s return could trigger the next adjustment sometime in 2026, especially as YouTube TV continues to expand its sports catalog and cloud DVR features.

What the New Deal Includes

Under the new agreement, Disney’s full lineup — including ESPN, ABC, FX, Freeform, National Geographic, and regional sports networks — will remain part of YouTube TV’s base plan, ON3 reported. By the end of 2026, ESPN’s expanded content library from its “ESPN Unlimited” app will also be available at no additional cost, at least for now.

In other words, subscribers get more content without a higher bill yet. But that “yet” is doing a lot of work.

Media analysts expect YouTube TV to absorb some of the immediate cost to prevent cancellations following the blackout. Eventually, though, it’s likely those costs will pass through to users.

Subscribers Are Bracing for It

The social media reaction was instant. Posts on X and Reddit forums dedicated to YouTube TV filled with a single question: What’s the price increase?

what's the price increase https://t.co/oAG9ptVtvv

— parker fleming (@statsowar) November 15, 2025

Parker Fleming, a popular college football analyst, summed it up with one viral post: “What’s the price increase?”

That sentiment echoed across the web as subscribers celebrated ESPN’s return while joking that their next bill might be the real loss of the season.

For now, YouTube TV says the price remains unchanged. But streaming history says otherwise. As new content deals pile up and competition with traditional cable intensifies, costs almost always rise.

For Disney, the blackout may have ended, but the financial scoreboard is still running. For YouTube TV subscribers, the next big question isn’t whether the channels are back — it’s how long before the bill goes up.