BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2025) — Disney channels are back on YouTube TV, ending a short but noisy blackout that left South Florida viewers without ABC news, SEC football and ESPN’s weekend lineup.
In an email sent late Friday night to subscribers, YouTube TV said it had “reached a deal with Disney to bring their content back” to the service. The company told customers they “now have access to Disney channels, including ABC and ESPN, and any recordings that were previously in your Library,” adding that personal preferences and recommendations would pick up exactly where they left off.
“We sincerely appreciate your patience, and we’re happy to have reached a deal that preserves the value of our service for our subscribers,” the YouTube TV team wrote, while reminding account holders that “family managers have the ability to cancel anytime.”
The about-face comes just days after YouTube TV and Disney failed to agree on new carriage terms, triggering a Halloween-time blackout across the U.S. — including right here in Palm Beach County and the rest of South Florida.
“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 company told subscribers in that earlier message. “We will not agree to terms that disadvantage our members while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products.”
That move instantly wiped out more than a dozen popular networks: ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, FX, FXX, Freeform, Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, ESPNU, FXM, ABC News Live, ACC Network, Localish, SEC Network, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, Baby TV Español and Nat Geo Mundo.
Locally, that meant WPBF 25’s ABC newscasts dropped off YouTube TV, along with the Disney lineup many families rely on for kids’ programming. Sports fans took the hardest hit. South Florida viewers suddenly lost SEC Network’s college football slate, ESPN’s “College GameDay,” the Florida Gators–Georgia Bulldogs matchup that weekend, and ESPN’s Sunday NFL coverage — including Miami Dolphins highlights. National Miami Heat broadcasts on ESPN and related networks were also affected.
According to YouTube TV’s own Help Center guidance, recordings from those channels were removed from user libraries during the dispute but would return if a deal was reached. Friday’s email says those libraries and recommendations should now be fully restored.
The brief blackout underscored a larger fight playing out across the TV business as streaming distributors and legacy media companies clash over carriage fees in a shrinking cable-style market. Disney has been pushing for higher fees to support its portfolio of sports and entertainment channels, while Google — which owns YouTube TV — has framed its stance as holding the line to keep subscriber bills from climbing.
During the outage, YouTube TV pointed customers to Disney’s own platforms, including ESPN+, where the company continues to stream live sports such as college football, UFC and select NHL and NBA games. The service also previously said it would issue a $20 credit to subscribers if the blackout dragged on, while suggesting alternatives like Hulu + Live TV, Fubo and Sling for viewers who needed uninterrupted access to Disney-owned channels.
With Friday’s deal, those stopgap options are no longer the only choice. For YouTube TV customers from Boca Raton up through West Palm Beach and across the Treasure Coast, ABC news is back in the live guide, SEC Network is again on the dial for Saturdays in the fall, and ESPN’s national coverage of the Dolphins, Heat and other teams has returned to their usual spots.
YouTube TV didn’t release specific terms of the agreement in its customer email, only saying it believes the new deal “preserves the value” of the service. For now, the message to subscribers is simple: the channels are back, your recordings are back, and if you still want to cancel, you can.
