Disney Senior Execs on YouTube TV Blackout: Google Is ‘Not Interested in Achieving a Fair Deal With Us’

Disney‘s top brass is telling the troops that they’re going to continue to fight for a “fair deal” with Google’s YouTube TV, after the internet service pulled ESPN, ABC and other Disney networks Thursday night.

Disney Entertainment Co-Chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro sent a memo to company employees Friday morning regarding YouTube TV’s blackout.

According to the three execs, YouTube TV pulled Disney’s channels from the service — prior to the midnight ET expiration of the previous carriage deal — with “no advance notice to their subscribers, or to us. In doing so, they not only cut off access to our live programming but also deleted all previously recorded shows and events from their subscribers’ libraries.”

Walden, Bergman and Pitaro continued: “Their actions make clear how little regard they have for their customers and are consistent with an attitude which has been prevalent throughout our negotiations — YouTube TV and its owner, Google, are not interested in achieving a fair deal with us. Instead, they want to use their power and extraordinary resources to eliminate competition and devalue the very content that helped them build their service.”

The executives told employees that it will continue to work for a beneficial deal for Disney with Google and YouTube. “We are asking nothing more of YouTube TV than what we have gotten from every other distributor — fair rates for our channels,” they wrote.

Read the memo from Walden, Bergman and Pitaro:

Team,

As you are no doubt aware, last night YouTube TV pulled our channels from their service, prior to the midnight expiration of our deal, and with no advance notice to their subscribers, or to us. In doing so, they not only cut off access to our live programming but also deleted all previously recorded shows and events from their subscribers’ libraries. Their actions make clear how little regard they have for their customers and are consistent with an attitude which has been prevalent throughout our negotiations — YouTube TV and its owner, Google, are not interested in achieving a fair deal with us. Instead, they want to use their power and extraordinary resources to eliminate competition and devalue the very content that helped them build their service.

We are enormously proud of the work done by so many of you to create the highest quality and most compelling content. At ESPN and ABC in particular, we have made significant investments in programming, including the best line-up of live sports in the industry — bar none. On ABC alone, we have increased the number of live games by nearly 80% over the past several years. The lineup for this weekend is incredible and includes 13 of the top 25 college football teams on our platforms, a double header of NWSL games on ESPN, and leads right into Monday Night Football featuring the Arizona Cardinals vs. the Dallas Cowboys on ABC.

The bottom line is that our channels are extremely valuable, and we can only continue to program them with the sports and entertainment viewers love most if we stand our ground against tactics that threaten the integrity of our business and the value of our creative work. We are asking nothing more of YouTube TV than what we have gotten from every other distributor – fair rates for our channels.

We will keep you informed as this matter progresses. For those of you who are YouTube TV customers and have lost access to our channels, there are other ways you can watch, which you can find here: KeepMyNetworks.com.

We know how hard so many of you work every day to create, promote, and support our programming. We’re deeply grateful for your continued focus, professionalism, and commitment.

Alan, Dana & Jimmy