Latest on YouTube TV-ESPN impasse: Can Eagles, Packers bring sides together? – The New York Times

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Will the YouTube TV-ESPN standoff extend through yet another "Monday Night Football" game? Scott Taetsch / Getty Images
As the standoff between YouTube TV and ESPN hurtles toward its second week — threatening 10 million YouTube TV subscribers’ access to college football games on Saturday, including LSU-Alabama and BYU-Texas Tech, along with the “Monday Night Football” matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers — the sides appear no closer to a resolution.
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The intractable issue? Money, of course.
In the most basic terms, as The Athletic laid out earlier this week, they are arguing over the difference between what Disney wants YouTube TV to pay for access to Disney’s programming (including ABC and the entire ESPN system of networks) and what YouTube TV wants to pay Disney for access to Disney’s programming.
To oversimplify, they are haggling over price — imagine two stubborn, ornery folks at a weekend flea market.
But dig a little deeper, and this standoff becomes a singular exhibition of media power dynamics in 2025.
To assess the state of play, I connected with The Athletic’s sports business editor, Dan Shanoff, to talk it through, and he began the conversation with a question.
Shanoff: Right off the bat, where do we stand with the latest you’re hearing from inside the companies? Any movement? Glimmer of an imminent deal?
Marchand: They are still talking. So it is not radio silence. That’s a good sign. A bad sign? They blew past college football last Saturday and then “Monday Night Football” this week. Those pressure points are when these deals traditionally get done. Both sides talk a lot and insist “this time” they will hold out. Then it ends the same way: with a deal and no missed games for fans. That did not happen this week. That’s troubling — although, when these disagreements end, it happens quickly.
Shanoff: That’s better than “not talking,” I guess. I mentioned it above, but can you elaborate on the main sticking point?
Marchand: Surprise, surprise — money is the main sticking point. They are said to be far apart on price, according to sources briefed on the negotiations.
We aren’t privy to every minute detail, but basically, in the eight years of its existence, YouTube TV has grown into the third-largest cable-like provider behind Spectrum and Comcast. Those two behemoths have around 12 million subscribers, while YouTube TV has around 10 million. YouTube TV wants to be treated like the big boys, which means getting a little better pricing because of its comparable subscriber base, plus projections that it could eclipse Spectrum and Comcast in the years ahead. YouTube TV would also like a “Favored Nation” clause, which means that if someone else negotiates a more beneficial agreement, YouTube TV would also get the same better pricing. This protection may or may not be a red line for either side, but it is very valuable because of how it impacts future agreements for both of them.
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Shanoff: I don’t think this can be overstated: YouTube TV’s parent, Alphabet, has a market cap of $3.4 trillion. Trillion. Disney’s market cap is around $200 billion. Disney is used to pushing around relatively similar-sized companies. How much does the difference in this nontraditional power dynamic fit into this?
Marchand: I think it is important, as YouTube TV is not Alphabet’s main business. Alphabet (which people probably know better by its former corporate name, “Google”) is a massive business. Alphabet did around $350 billion in revenue in 2024, and it’s a decent estimate that YouTube TV accounted for somewhere from $5 billion to $10 billion of that revenue. Alphabet doesn’t need your $80 per month.
But YouTube TV does have its own P&L sheet, so like all Alphabet business lines, it is working under a financial plan and under pressure to deliver.
So YouTube TV can withstand a lot of short-term pressure from not having ESPN programming. That said, ESPN/Disney can, too, because over the long term, a better deal with YouTube TV means it makes more money than whatever it’s losing day to day or week to week right now.
Shanoff: One thing I was curious about: Who is at the negotiating table? It was very notable earlier this year when YouTube poached longtime ESPN executive Justin Connolly to run its sports efforts. There was even a lawsuit, which was settled. Is that relationship in play?
Marchand: It’s kind of a weird situation, as Connolly used to report to ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro. Connolly has to recuse himself from the negotiations, but his team is a part of the negotiations.
Disney/ESPN’s negotiation team is led by Sean Breen and Jimmy Zasowski, both executive vice presidents within a division called Disney Platform Distribution. They replaced Connolly when he left for YouTube. It is hard to say how the shift is changing the dynamics behind the scenes, but it is an odd wrinkle in the showdown.
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Shanoff: The first weekend of this was sort of a novelty. Yeah, I missed Texas vs. Vandy and a bunch of other interesting college football games, but OK. Then I missed the New York City Marathon on Sunday — a little more inconvenient and aggravating. Then we reached that threshold that I don’t think anyone expected we would: YouTube TV subscribers missing out on “Monday Night Football.” Did that surprise you, too?
Marchand: That you were aggravated? No, we have worked together long enough.
In all seriousness, I think that a deal was probably expected from the important players involved. This case has gone against the grain, so that does make it a bit surprising. The ratings on college football and “MNF” this week were down a bit, which makes sense when you have 10 million fewer households.
Shanoff: That’s a great point. MNF this week, which featured the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals, was down in ratings around 8 percent from the previous week, which featured the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders. College football on ABC in prime time — Tennessee-Oklahoma — was down a bit, but it was also going up against Game 7 of the World Series on Fox. That was one of the most-watched baseball games of the past decade and, of course, available on every TV distribution platform.
But looking at this week, now it feels like we’re in a bit of a lull — there have not been any big-time live sports since Monday on ABC or ESPN to give either side the urgency to get this wrapped up. But we’re quickly coming up on another college football Saturday, headlined by Alabama-LSU on ABC, along with dozens of other games. I’m not sure that is enough of a pain point to make it an action-forcing event in negotiations.
But advance a day or two further, and you run into another episode of “Monday Night Football,” and it’s a way better game than last week’s Cowboys-Cardinals dud. Eagles at Packers is arguably the best Monday night matchup of the season so far. It’s the Packers’ only MNF appearance and Philly’s first (of only two total).
So I guess that’s all to say: Can the Eagles and the Packers be the force that gets the sides to come to a deal and get 10 million YouTube TV subscribers in front of that game?
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Marchand: In theory, yes, but this is just a different fight. We’ve already seen them blow through college football and the NFL for one week. It’s not inconceivable that they could blow through another.
But someone will back down. It is more “when” than “if.” They both should be motivated to do a deal. They need each other. ESPN has the best portfolio of sports rights in the game. If YouTube TV’s success relies, in part, on live sports, it needs to have ESPN and ABC.
ESPN can’t just replicate 10 million subscriptions with a new direct-to-consumer service and smaller multi-channel services like Hulu + Live and Fubo.
Shanoff: Any advice for fans if (or when?) they get to noon this Saturday without a deal and they really want to catch any of the college football games on ABC or the ESPN networks?
Marchand: The local bar is always fun. I do think there are some deals with other providers that work, although it is annoying when you have a YouTube TV subscription and need to add another one.
The one false narrative in all of this is that ESPN is just trying to get you to sign up for its new $30-per-month streaming app. Of course ESPN would like you to do that, but that is not what this dispute is about. It actually probably prefers to have you as part of a big bundle like YouTube TV, where there is less volatility around churn or cancellation. With YouTube TV, you are more likely to stay all year round than you would be with a sports-specific streaming app that you only care about in-season. Once they finally agree on a deal, access to ESPN Unlimited will be bundled into your YouTube TV subscription in the same way it’s bundled into Comcast, Verizon Fios and ESPN’s other distribution partners.
Shanoff: And what about Eagles and Packers fans if they don’t have this sorted by next Monday?
Marchand: I wish I could give them some good advice, but it’s going to be an inconvenience for them to watch the game. It is a shame for the fans.
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Andrew Marchand is a Sr. Sports Media Columnist for The Athletic. He previously worked for the New York Post and ESPN, where he predominantly covered sports media and baseball. In 2024, he won the Associated Press Sports Editors’ top national award for beat writing for his coverage of sports media. Marchand also has his own twice-weekly sports media podcast available at AndrewMarchand.com.

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