ESPN & ABC Still Off YouTube TV — Latest on the Disney–YouTube TV Blackout

ESPN and ABC remain off YouTube TV as Disney, Google negotiate

Football fans hoping to watch Monday Night Football on YouTube TV must turn to other services while Disney and YouTube TV remain locked in a carriage dispute. Disney pulled dozens of its channels — including ESPN and ABC, which carry "Monday Night Football" — from YouTube TV on Oct. 30 after the companies failed to reach a new distribution agreement.

On Oct. 30, YouTube TV said: "Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to reach a fair deal, and starting today, Disney programming will not be available on YouTube TV." The streamer accused Disney of proposing "costly economic terms that would raise prices on YouTube TV customers and give our customers fewer choices."

Disney countered that Google, YouTube TV’s parent, is "using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor."

As of the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 3, ESPN remained unavailable on YouTube TV, meaning the Nov. 3 Monday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons would not air on the service.

How to watch the game and other alternatives

Subscribers who still want to watch the game can use other streaming options. Available alternatives include:

• Fubo (offers a free trial)
• Sling TV
• ESPN+ (Disney’s direct streaming service)

YouTube TV said it will provide a $20 credit to subscribers if the Disney channels remain unavailable for an "extended period of time," though the company has not specified the exact timing or conditions for that credit.

Election Day request and full channel list

Disney said it asked YouTube TV to temporarily restore ABC on Tuesday, Nov. 4 — an off-year election day in parts of the U.S. — so subscribers can access election coverage. In its statement Disney said, "Despite the impasse that led to the current blackout, we have asked YouTube TV to restore ABC for Election Day so subscribers have access to the information they rely on. We believe in putting the public interest first and hope YouTube TV will take this small step for their customers while we continue to work toward a fair agreement." USA TODAY has asked YouTube TV for comment on that request.

Google published the full list of Disney-run channels removed from YouTube TV; they include:

• ABC
• ABC News Live
• ACC Network
• Disney Channel
• Disney Junior
• Disney XD
• ESPN
• ESPNews
• ESPN2
• ESPNU
• Freeform
• FX
• FXM
• FXX
• Localish
• Nat Geo
• Nat Geo Wild
• SEC Network
• Spanish-language offerings: ESPN Deportes, Baby TV Español, Nat Geo Mundo

The blackout has left viewers of sports, entertainment and news channels searching for alternatives while negotiations continue. USA TODAY has reached out to YouTube TV for further details on the timeline for a return of Disney channels and the circumstances under which the $20 credit will be applied.

Reporting: Melina Khan, USA TODAY (melina.khan@usatoday.com). This article originally appeared on USA TODAY.