By Michaela Gordoni
Disney says its losses in its carriage dispute with YouTube TV in the fall amount to $110 million.
During the dispute, YouTube blacked out access to Disney products for 15 days.
Overall operating income for Disney’s sports division for the current quarter was $191 million, down 23% from last year, the company said. Disney says this reflects the YouTube TV fallout, decrease in subscription and affiliate fees and other reasons, Business Insider reported Monday.
The companies had got into the dispute on Oct. 30, and resolved it by Nov. 14.
Related: YouTube TV Calls Disney ‘Unnecessarily Aggressive’ Amid Carriage Dispute
The Mouse House had claimed that YouTube TV didn’t asses Disney’s content fairly. YouTube claimed that if it complied with Disney’s higher rates, then it would have to raise prices for its customers.
“Our team stands ready to make a fair agreement in line with their deals with other distributors and we encourage Disney to come to the table and do what’s best for our mutual customers,” YouTube said in a statement to Reuters mid-way through the dispute. Disney said, “YouTube TV continues to insist on receiving preferential terms that are below market and has made few concessions.”
Despite the $110m loss, Disney still had record streaming profits for the quarter and beat Wall Street expectations for revenue and profit.
Disney CEO Bob Iger said he was please with Disney’s fiscal 2026 start.
“As we continue to manage our company for the future, I am incredibly proud of all that we’ve accomplished over the past three years,” he said.
Its stock was down 2% in premarket trading and says it only expects modest growth in the next quarter from its parks.
The companies agreed that the Unlimited tier of ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streaming outlet will be included at no extra charge for YouTube TV’s 10 million subscribers. Variety asserts that the blackout likely pushed many YouTube TV subscribers to subscribe to ESPN Unlimited, before the agreement was reached. So Disney may not have suffered all that much, but it has not revealed ESPN Unlimited subscriber numbers or revenue.
In November, Disney Entertainment Co-Chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said of the agreement, “This new agreement reflects our continued commitment to delivering exceptional entertainment and evolving with how audiences choose to watch. It recognizes the tremendous value of Disney’s programming and provides YouTube TV subscribers with more flexibility and choice. We are pleased that our networks have been restored in time for fans to enjoy the many great programming options this weekend, including college football.”
While $110m is a good chunk of change, Disney and ESPN’s future still looks bright.
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