ABC, ESPN and other Disney-owned channels went dark on YouTube TV on late Friday (December 17), but were in the process of coming back Sunday (December 19) after the streaming TV service and The Mouse sealed a new distribution deal.

That stable of Disney channels, which also includes FXX, FXM, National Geographic Wild, ESPN2, SEC Network, ACC Network and others, were taken off of YouTube TV after their prior distribution deal expired on Friday, December 17.

But the two sides apparently worked over the weekend to get a new deal done. Terms of the new agreement were not announced.

Figure 1: Disney-owned networks, such as ABC, were being restored to YouTube TV on Sunday after the two sides struck a new carriage deal.
(Source: YouTube TV)

"We're happy to share that we've reached a deal with Disney to return their content to YouTube TV while preserving a $64.99/mo. price for our members," YouTube TV announced Sunday.

"We've already started to restore access to Disney networks like ESPN and FX, including their live and on-demand content, as well as any recordings that were previously in your Library. We will also be turning on your local ABC stations over the course of the day. Don't worry, your personal preferences and recommendations will be just as you left them."

YouTube TV noted that it will honor a $15 discount that it promised to give subscribers while Disney content remained off its pay-TV platform.

"For active members who have not yet received that $15 discount on their monthly bill, you will automatically receive this one-time credit on your next bill with no action needed," YouTube TV said.

"For any of you who were impacted and have initiated the cancellation process, we will still honor the one-time $15 credit on your bill if you resume your membership before you lose access."

Following that one-time, $15 discount, YouTube TV's base monthly price will revert back to $64.99 per month, the Google-owned service told subscribers.

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YouTube TV, estimated to have about 4 million subscribers, did not say how many customers opted to cancel the service after Disney-owned channels went dark for a brief period.

Prior to inking a new deal, YouTube TV directed customers that customers could still access "some" Disney content via a streaming bundle that includes Disney+, Hulu's SVoD service and ESPN+, for $13.99.

Last month, YouTube TV and NBCU avoided the need to blackout NBC's local broadcast feeds and its batch of national and regional cable networks after striking a new deal that kept NBCU's content on the Google-owned OTT-TV service.

Their prior deal had expired on September 30, but Google and NBCU struck an extension that maintained carriage while the two sided continued to hammer out a new multi-year deal.

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— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading