Disney Estimates $30 Million Weekly Loss Amid YouTube TV Blackout

Disney is currently losing an estimated $30 million per week due to its ongoing carriage dispute with Google, resulting in ESPN, ABC, and other Disney networks being unavailable on YouTube TV.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley estimate the financial impact at nearly $4.3 million per day, and project a $60 million revenue headwind for Disney’s year-end 2025 quarter if the blackout continues for 14 days. The dispute, which began just before midnight ET on October 30th, centers on pricing, with Google claiming Disney is seeking an unprecedented fee increase and Disney asserting Google is “refusing to pay fair rates for our channels.” This disruption comes at a critical time for both companies as the streaming landscape becomes increasingly competitive.

The blackout has already caused YouTube TV subscribers to miss two consecutive weeks of “Monday Night Football” on ESPN and ABC, as well as college football games and primetime programming. A recent survey indicates that 24% of YouTube TV subscribers have canceled or intend to cancel their service because of the missing channels, though a YouTube representative stated that subscriber churn has been “manageable.” To mitigate cancellations, YouTube TV began offering subscribers a one-time $20 credit this Sunday. For more information on cord-cutting trends, see Statista’s report on cord-cutting.

Despite the current dispute, Morgan Stanley analysts believe the launch of ESPN Unlimited, Disney’s standalone streaming package, has been successful, estimating approximately 3 million subscribers by September 2026. Disney is scheduled to report its earnings for the September 2025 quarter on Thursday, November 13th. Officials expect the Disney-YouTube TV dispute to be resolved later this week.