YouTube TV accuses Disney of proposing terms that disadvantage its members while benefiting its own TV products, in the latest industry stand-off over costs.
Disney networks went dark on YouTube after negotiations to reach a licensing deal failed, the companies announced separately on Thursday.
The standoff between the media giants comes amid a wider industry battle over streaming costs and market shares.
YouTube has partnerships with content providers such as Disney, Fox, Paramount, and CNN to offer their channels through its subscription-based streaming service, YouTube TV.
Affected Disney networks include ABC News Live, ABC, ESPN, Nat Geo, FX, Nat Geo Wild, and Disney Channel.
YouTube TV, one of the largest pay-TV distributors in the United States with more than 10 million subscribers, issued a statement on X just before the deal was set to expire at midnight Eastern Time.
The statement from YouTube said that Disney’s proposed terms would raise prices for its subscribers and benefit Disney’s own live TV services, including Hulu + Live TV.
‘Market Dominance’
YouTube has been locked in negotiations this year with a number of firms threatening to pull their media networks from the platform.
“Our contract with Disney has reached its renewal date, and we’ll not agree to terms that disadvantage our members while benefiting Disney’s TV products,” the YouTube TV statement said.
“With a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor,” Disney said in a statement.
YouTube TV said it will compensate subscribers with a $20 credit if the Disney networks remain unavailable on the platform for an extended period of time, without specifying how long this would need to be.
The pay-TV platform dropped Spanish-language network Univision last month after a failed contract deal.
Following negotiations, Fox Corporation and YouTube eventually reached a deal in August, averting the possibility that Fox channels would go dark on the streaming platform.
