YouTube TV, Disney agree to multiyear deal

A little over two weeks ago, YouTube TV customers began receiving a notification that all Disney/ABC/ESPN channels would be unavailable due to the expiration of the two parties’ media deal without a new agreement. The streaming service’s 10M subscribers will begin to see access to those channels restored as the tech giants have agreed to a new multiyear deal, per Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.

The 15-day hiatus resulted in millions of customers losing access to "Monday Night Football" games broadcast on ESPN and ABC, as well as several ESPN-affiliated channels that make up a large block of college football viewing on Saturdays. Over two weekends, the lack of a deal also kept popular Saturday morning "College Gameday" programming off of televisions across the country, as well.

With Disney’s quarterly earnings call taking place on Thursday, progress was improving throughout the week. Negotiations became much more serious than initially suspected, and as a result, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Disney CEO Bob Iger both became more involved in negotiations.

What customers can expect from the multiyear deal

The new deal will return access to all of the missing channels, and now YouTube TV subscribers will have access to ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer app. Reports of the new deal failed to report any change in price for the service, but YouTube TV customers were offered a $20-credit for the absence of the channels last weekend.

The two-week game of media chicken finally comes to an end in time for Week 12 of the college football season. "Monday Night Football" will also return to the streaming service as the Cowboys head to Las Vegas to close out Week 11 of the NFL’s regular season.