Disney Channels Return to YouTube TV

The Walt Disney Company’s channels, including ESPN, ABC, National Geographic, FX and others, have returned to YouTube TV after the company inked a new multiyear agreement with Google.

Under the new deal, ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service will be made available at no additional cost to YouTube TV subscribers and will include a selection of live and on-demand programming.

Also, select Disney networks will be included in various genre-specific packages. In addition, the deal allows YouTube to include the Disney+ and Hulu bundle as part of “select YouTube offerings.”

The deal comes after Disney pulled its channels from YouTube TV on October 30. This included ESPN, ABC, National Geographic, FX, Freeform, SEC Network, ACC Network and more.

“This new agreement reflects our continued commitment to delivering exceptional entertainment and evolving with how audiences choose to watch,’’ said Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro in a joint statement. “It recognizes the tremendous value of Disney’s programming and provides YouTube TV subscribers with more flexibility and choice. We are pleased that our networks have been restored in time for fans to enjoy the many great programming options this weekend [November 15 and 16], including college football.”

In a separate statement, a YouTube spokesperson said, “We’re happy to share that we’ve reached an agreement with Disney that preserves the value of our service for our subscribers and future flexibility in our offers. Subscribers should see channels including ABC, ESPN and FX returning to their service over the course of [November 14], as well as any recordings that were previously in their library. We apologize for the disruption and appreciate our subscribers’ patience as we negotiated on their behalf.”