Can Pat McAfee help Disney win against YouTube TV in the never-ending television chariot war?
Disney’s ESPN announced it will make “College Gameday,” one of its most popular sports television broadcasts, widely available through its X social media platform as the entertainment conglomerate grapples with a network blackout on YouTube TV. It’s one of a growing number of horse-drawn battles between traditional entertainment companies and increasingly popular content distribution companies.
Disney said in a statement: “We understand that some fans are unhappy about missing out on opportunities, so we are taking this action with them in mind.” ESPN has aired “College Gameday” on Saturday mornings during football season since 1987.
“College GameDay,” one of ESPN’s veteran hit shows, has received ad support from The Home Depot for years, but it has gotten a boost in recent years with the addition of maverick sports host Pat McAfee. In fact, in X, broadcasts are displayed via McAfee’s feed. Fans can also find the telecast on ESPN’s mobile app. In either case, fans can watch the show without having to rely on a cable or satellite company subscription or other means of video distribution for access.
ESPN announced Tuesday that last week’s broadcast drew 2.5 million viewers between 9 a.m. and noon, and 3.2 million viewers in the final hour after 12 p.m. According to ESPN, the broadcast became the most-watched broadcast of all time in its ninth week.
Disney may be hoping to give sports fans who subscribe to YouTube TV another way to find opponents. ESPN launched a new streaming service earlier this year that makes the full content of the channel’s portfolio available to people who don’t subscribe through traditional means. It’s a reversal after years of trying to keep consumers stuck with the old ESPN. Disney also makes content from other networks available on Disney+ and Hulu in a variety of ways.
For companies like Disney, the economics of sports don’t matter. The company and its many rivals, including NBCUniversal, Amazon Prime Video, Fox, Paramount Global and Netflix, are investing increasingly large sums of money to make sports more widely available and more visible. This matchup represents one programming format that continues to attract the large live audiences that advertisers crave at a time when more consumers are attracted to streaming their favorite videos when they want.
YouTube TV dropped the Disney network late Oct. 30 after the two sides were unable to agree on a contract renewal that would keep ABC, ESPN and other Disney properties on the internet TV service. The biggest problem is the price. Disney is demanding a rate hike, but Google has no intention of agreeing. At the same time, Google is pushing TV companies to accept new tiers of programming, which could result in some subscribers opting out of certain networks.
YouTube TV has announced that it will offer subscribers a one-time $20 credit if their Disney channel remains unavailable for an “extended period of time.” YouTube TV’s basic subscription plan costs $82.99 per month.
Disney is the latest in a string of media companies to spar with Google over YouTube TV in recent months. Other companies that have fought the company include Paramount Global (now Paramount Skydance), Fox Corporation, and NBCUniversal. All new agreements were reached without power outages, but as the deadline loomed, some companies scrambled to reach agreements. YouTube TV discontinued Univision and other networks owned by TelevisaUnivision at the end of September after the two sides were unable to reach a new agreement. And these stations remain removed from Google services.
–Todd Spangler contributed to this article
More to come…
