YouTube TV Customers Get Bad News After ESPN Dispute

Last week, YouTube TV and Disney finally reached an agreement that ended a long carriage dispute that left subscribers without ESPN and ABC content for multiple weekends. Though the two sides did reach an agreement that restored the channels to YouTube TV and also brought some new content, subscribers did get some bad news this week.

While the carriage dispute came to an end on Friday, just in time for subscribers to access ESPN and ABC for college football on Saturday and Monday Night Football, and the new deal did grant YouTube TV subscribers access to some new content, it looks like subscribers will miss out on some new content coming to ESPN.

A Long Carriage Dispute

Through most of the month, Disney and YouTube TV were engaged in a carriage dispute that left subscribers without access to ESPN and ABC.

As a result of this dispute, YouTube TV subscribers missed two weekends of college football, the opening week of college basketball, early-season NBA games, and two Monday Night Football games. As a result, YouTube TV issued all of its subscribers a $20 credit.

That carriage dispute officially ended on Friday with the Disney-owned channels returning to the streaming platform. Additionally, YouTube TV subscribers will now have access to all ESPN Unlimited content, as well.

Some Bad News

While YouTube TV subscribers were undoubtedly pleased to have Disney content restored, as well as the new access to ESPN Unlimited content, baseball fans who subscribe to the streaming service did get some bad news this week.

On Tuesday, John Ourand of Puck reported that MLB.tv will be headed to ESPN for the 2026 season, where it will be housed within the ESPN app. However, despite the recent carriage agreement between YouTube TV and Disney, this content will not be available for YouTube TV subscribers.

If YouTube TV subscribers wish to access MLB.tv, which is Major League Baseball's out-of-market offering comparable to NFL Sunday Ticket, it looks like they will have to subscribe directly through ESPN's own platform.