ESPN and the other Disney channels are back on YouTube TV after a one-day disruption.
Google and Disney announced Sunday that the sides have reached a deal to restore Disney’s suite of channels, including ESPN, to YouTube TV. The base price of YouTube TV will return to $65 per month, though Google said that it will honor the $15 discount it awarded subscribers for the loss of the ESPN channels in the form of a one-month credit.
It would be fair to wonder what the point was of Saturday’s disruption if Google and Disney were this close to a deal, especially given that Google and NBC hashed out a short-term extension earlier this year when negotiations ran a few days past the expiration of their contract.
Google’s temporary loss of the Disney channels incurred the usual social media backlash, with a number of Twitter users threatening to cancel their subscription and move to (Disney-owned) Hulu. In its statement Sunday, Google offered an olive branch to those who had begun the cancellation process, saying “we would love to welcome you back.”
YouTube TV pulled the Disney-owned channels Friday night, meaning viewers who were watching the Lakers-Timberwolves game on ESPN or an FCS college football playoff game on ESPN2 were cut off in the middle of play. YouTube TV subscribers then missed a full day of college football bowl games on the ESPN family of networks.
