The current mess battle between YouTube TV and the Walt Disney Co. provides an opportunity to rethink having paid live television.

The battle for streaming dominance has intensified after The Walt Disney Company and Google's YouTube TV failed to renew a key carriage agreement, resulting in a blackout of Disney-owned channels. From 30 October 2025,

Starting in 2026, DIRECTV will start rolling out its new “Advanced Entertainment Platform” which is based on Google TV. The new experience will enable customers to use streaming apps including Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV, YouTube, and more, as well as being able to use Google Cast for sending content from their phones.

Disney networks including ABC and ESPN have gone dark on Google-owned YouTube TV after the two corporate giants couldn't come to terms on a new deal.

With nearly six million North American subscribers, the newly combined Fubo and Hulu + Live TV venture is now the second largest virtual pay-TV provider in the U.S. It only trails Google's YouTube TV, which reportedly has more than 10 million paying subscribers.

If you're one of the millions of YouTube TV customers who had hoped to watch ESPN's College GameDay this morning, you're SOL.