Disney’s battle with YouTube TV isn’t going as expected

• Disney and YouTube TV are at odds over the value of channels like ESPN.
• Disney is appealing to YouTube TV subscribers by enlisting top ESPN personalities.
• But some sports fans are losing their patience.

Sports fans frustrated by the standoff between Disney and YouTube TV are sounding off on top ESPN personalities, and the network itself.

Disney's networks, including the ESPN channels, are unavailable on YouTube TV as part of a blackout that began on October 30. The media giant has said YouTube TV isn't willing to pay the market rate.

Meanwhile, the Google-owned live TV service has said that Disney's proposal would force it to raise prices again, while helping Disney-controlled rivals like Fubo and Hulu + Live TV. YouTube TV promised to give its customers a $20 credit if the blackout drags on.

The dispute comes as live sports rights are increasingly costly. The NBA secured a $76 billion TV deal over 11 years, up from its prior deal of $24 billion over nine years. And sports rights inflation could cause media companies to raise prices, cut spending in other areas, or both.

This high-profile carriage fight meant that YouTube TV subscribers couldn't watch ESPN's college football games this past weekend, or its popular pregame show "College GameDay" through the platform (though it was streamed live without a paywall on both X and the ESPN app). And if the dispute isn't resolved soon, football fans will also miss "Monday Night Football."

Disney and ESPN have tried to win over fans by stirring up outrage against YouTube TV. A Disney spokesperson said in a statement that "Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition." ESPN has even enlisted megastars like Stephen A. Smith, Scott Van Pelt, and Mike Greenberg in the fight. All three personalities posted short clips on social media informing viewers of the dispute and directing them to a Disney-owned website to petition YouTube TV, which didn't immediately return a request for comment.

But some sports fans aren't feeling too sympathetic to Disney and ESPN.

Instead, a chorus of social media users took out their frustrations on ESPN's boldfaced names. Top replies to Smith, Van Pelt, and Greenberg's X posts included criticisms of the call-to-action to petition YouTube TV, concerns that the standoff between the two corporations would drive up prices, frustrations with the new ESPN app, and even threats to watch ESPN's live sports on pirate sites.

YouTube TV wasn't spared from the backlash, as the top replies to its X posts were pledges to quit. Searches for "cancel YouTube TV" spiked immediately after the blackout rose to the highest level in at least five years, according to data from Google Trends. Interest in competing services like Fubo and Hulu + Live TV has also soared to the highest levels in years.

Still, the online pushback against ESPN and its biggest celebrities is notable, especially as the sports network tries to build a direct relationship with consumers.

Some sports fans seem fed up with how streaming is increasingly defined by higher prices and fragmentation, with games spread across several streamers. And while virtual pay-TV services like YouTube TV or Fubo are easier to cancel than cable, they're no longer significantly cheaper.

Disney is in a tough spot, as it needs to collect enough money from providers like YouTube TV to justify its investments in live sports, but doing so risks alienating customers. Sports lovers may already suspect that Disney and ESPN are playing hardball with YouTube TV since it offers several alternatives for fans to watch, including subscribing to the ESPN app directly.

Another risk for Disney and ESPN is that a blackout may train sports fans to either skip the games and watch the highlights instead — or even to find the games on illegal pirating sites. That would be a disastrous outcome for a company recovering from a widely followed boycott that cost it millions of streaming subscribers.