The feud between Disney and YouTube TV has stretched out for a week.
All Disney-owned channels, including ESPN, were pulled from the streaming service when the companies’ contract ended at 11:59 p.m. ET on Oct. 30.
As a result, consumers have had to scramble for alternative options to watch Disney-owned channels, including sports fans wanting to watch games on ABC and ESPN.
A week before the contract’s expiration, the YouTube Official Blog wrote, “Disney is proposing costly economic terms that would raise prices on YouTube TV customers and give our customers fewer choices, while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products — like Hulu + Live TV and, soon, Fubo.”
ESPN released its own statement roughly an hour before the channels were pulled.
“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,” it said.
ESPN added that it was “committed to working toward a resolution as quickly as possible.”
The removal of the channels also meant that YouTube TV consumers were unable to follow election coverage Tuesday on ABC.
In a statement to USA Today on Monday, Disney said it had “asked YouTube TV to restore ABC for Election Day so subscribers have access to the information they rely on.”
YouTube TV responded, saying that only returning the channels for one day could “cause customer confusion among those who may briefly see ABC on YouTube TV only to lose it again shortly after.”
Instead, it proposed that ABC and ESPN be restored immediately during negotiations because “those are the channels that people want.”
It said the channels could be restored within hours if Disney gave its approval.
“More importantly, let’s get a fair deal done so we can get back to providing our mutual customers with the content they want,” the YouTube statement said.
How to watch BYU-Texas Tech
The feud has heavily impacted football fans.
Locally, BYU fans will face the same dilemma Utah fans experienced last week when it comes to watching Saturday’s game against Texas Tech. ESPN’s “College Gameday” visited Salt Lake City last week and will be in Lubbock, Texas, this week. Utah played on ESPN, and BYU will play on ABC.
Utah is on a bye this week, but its next game, against Baylor, will be on ESPN2.
Here are a few options to watch BYU-Texas Tech and ESPN’s “College GameDay."
Note: Not every live TV streaming option includes local channels. Consumers should verify before purchasing. Note: Games on ABC can be viewed on ESPN Unlimited, ESPN’s streaming services.
Sling TV
If choosing Sling TV, local channels, such as ABC, are only available in the Sling Blue package ($45.99 a month) and only in select markets.
Consumers can check if local channels are available in their market by entering their zip code on Sling’s website.
A quick check revealed that local channels are not available in Provo through Sling.
But ESPN is not available in that package. The ESPN channels are only available through the Sling Orange ($45.99 a month) or Sling Orange and Blue package ($29.99 first month, then $60.99).
Sling Orange also offers day ($4.99) or weekend passes ($9.99), which could be an option if the feud isn’t resolved by next weekend when BYU faces TCU, which will be aired on ESPN.
Hulu + Live TV
The Disney-owned Hulu + Live TV offers both ABC and ESPN.
Hulu + Live TV is currently on sale for $64.99 a month for three months with Disney+ and ESPN Select. The price will then increase to $89.99 a month.
Fubo
Last week, Disney acquired a majority stake in Fubo and will merge it with Hulu + Live TV. But until then, it’s another option to stream live TV during Disney and YouTube TV’s contract disputes.
Fubo’s closest alternatives to YouTube TV would be its 244-channel Fubo TV Pro ($54.99 for first month, then $84.99 a month) and 320-channel Fubo TV Elite with Sports Plus ($74.99 for first month, then $104.99 a month) packages. Both include ABC and ESPN.
ESPN Unlimited is also included for free with Fubo when the base plan includes the ESPN channel, such as with the Fubo TV Pro and Fubo TV Elite with Sports Plus.
Fubo also offers other sports packages with other non-sports channels:
- Fubo Sports Plus News ($45.99 for the first month, then $55.99 a month) comes with ESPN Unlimited and 29 other channels.
- Fubo Sports Plus News Quarterly ($52.66 for the first month, then $55.99 a month) offers 34 channels in addition to ABC and ESPN Unlimited.
A free five-day trial is available with all plans.
ESPN Unlimited
ESPN+ will not be enough to watch Saturday’s BYU game. Live ESPN channels are not accessible through ESPN+.
But ESPN has a new streaming option that will play BYU-Texas Tech: ESPN Unlimited.
For $29.99 a month, sports fans can get access to all of ESPN’s content, including games on ABC and ESPN, through ESPN Unlimited.
A bundle with Disney+ and Hulu is also available for the same price for 12 months. The price will then auto-renew for $35.99 a month.
Fox One and ESPN Unlimited bundle
ESPN also offers another bundle with Fox Sports’ Fox One streaming service.
For $39.99 a month, subscribers have access to programming on all the ESPN networks, ESPN+, FOX Sports, FS1, FS2 and more.
DirecTV
Going back to traditional cable is also an option as well as one of DirecTV’s streaming packages.
Each of its four packages — Entertainment, Choice, Ultimate and Premier — include subscriptions to ESPN Unlimited, Disney + and Hulu as well as your local ABC station.
The packages cost the following:
- Entertainment: $59.99 including fees for first month, then $94.99 a month.
- Choice: Up to $89.98 including fees for first month, then $114.98 a month.
- Ultimate: Up to $114.98 including fees for first month, then $139.98 a month.
- Premier: Up to $154.98 including fees for first month, then $179.98 a month.
Antenna
This will allow BYU fans to watch the game on ABC, but fans will not be able to watch ESPN’s College GameDay.
The Free TV Project offers a service that recommends the right antenna for you based on your address.