The fallout from YouTube TV’s deal with Disney was felt by subscribers over the weekend, but a new report citing a YouTube TV executive reveals some of the behind-the-scenes drama, suggesting that Disney has been “aggressive” in negotiations.
A report from Deadline cites an unnamed “YouTube executive involved in the negotiations” who offered some insight into the situation.
The executive said that Disney has been “unnecessarily aggressive and assertive” while also having an “antiquated view” of pay-TV economics. Expanding on that, as Deadline paraphrases, it was added that Disney is “not being reasonable to expect steep carriage fee increases.”
The YouTube executive further explained that “there are aspects of their portfolio that are doing well on our platform,” especially sports, but that “[Disney has] a very broad portfolio of channels where viewership on many networks is in decline or non-existent.” To that point, the executive said:
They [Disney] still have this very antiquated view that the customer should be forced to pay for the full portfolio.
In other words, Disney appears to be pushing for YouTube TV to carry its full catalog, where YouTube TV appears to feel that certain networks may not be worth carrying with “non-existent” viewership.
Disney quite literally just closed a deal to acquire Fubo to bolster Hulu + Live TV, and the YouTube executive said that “they frequently tell us in negotiations that they don’t care if it goes to a drop because they have those two.” Disney denied the accusation and also said that YouTube is “intentionally misrepresenting the situation.”
There’s still no word on when, if at all, Disney channels may return to YouTube TV, but based on comments from both sides, it sounds like the situation is quite heated.
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