YouTube TV Blackout Is Costing Disney an Estimated $4.3 Million per Day in Lost Revenue

Disney is likely feeling a financial pinch from the ongoing blackout of ESPN, ABC and other networks on Google’s YouTube TV.

Disney is losing an estimated $30 million per week from its networks being pulled off YouTube TV, which works out to nearly $4.3 million per day, according to Morgan Stanley analysts. The figure came in a research note from Morgan Stanley equity analysts Benjamin Swinburne and Thomas Yeh, who said in their financial forecast for Disney’s year-end 2025 quarter, they are “layering in 14 days of impact from the ongoing YouTube TV blackout, which we estimate is a $60mm revenue headwind.”

Nov. 11 marks the 12th day of the Disney blackout on YouTube TV. The Morgan Stanley analysts wrote that they expect the Disney-YouTube TV dispute to be resolved later this week, but estimated that each week its networks are dark on YouTube TV will lower Disney’s adjusted earnings per share by 2 cents.

Disney is scheduled to report earnings for the September 2025 quarter (the fourth quarter of its 2025 fiscal year) on Thursday, Nov. 13, before the market opens. On average, analysts expect Disney to report $22.78 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $1.02, according to financial data provider LSEG.

YouTube TV customers have already missed two straight weeks of “Monday Night Football” on ESPN and ABC (Philadelphia Eagles vs. Green Bay Packers on Nov. 10 and Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 3), not to mention two Saturdays of college football and other sports, plus ABC primetime shows, ABC News’ “World News Tonight” and “Good Morning America,” and more.

Of course, YouTube also is undoubtedly feeling financial pressure from the standoff, given that an unknown number of subscribers have dropped the service because of the loss of ESPN, ABC and other Disney nets. According to a survey fielded last week, 24% of YouTube TV subscribers said they’ve already canceled or intend to cancel service over the Disney blackout. A YouTube rep said that “while subscriber churn is always regrettable, it’s been manageable and does not align with the findings of this survey.”

This Sunday, YouTube TV began alerting subscribers about how to manually apply a one-time $20 credit to their account because of the Disney carriage dispute, a move to try to mitigate cancellations.

Disney’s networks went dark on YouTube TV service just before midnight ET on Thursday, Oct. 30, after Disney and Google were far apart on a deal before the expiration of the previous contract. The companies are fighting over price — with Google claiming Disney is asking for an unprecedented fee hike and Disney countering that Google is “refusing to pay fair rates for our channels.”

The fight comes after the August launch of ESPN Unlimited, an all-in standalone streaming package that provides everything from the sports giant in one place. Morgan Stanley’s Swinburne and Yeh said they believe the debut of ESPN Unlimited has “gone well relative to our modest expectations.” The analysts estimate ESPN Unlimited will sign up about 3 million subscribers by September 2026, each generating $18-$20 net effective monthly revenue. “We estimate ESPN adds roughly $500m of subscription revenues in FY26, benefiting from the launch of ESPN Unlimited,” the analysts wrote.

The Morgan Stanley forecast does not include Disney’s proposed deal giving the NFL a 10% stake in ESPN, valued to be worth as much as $2.5 billion, which is pending.

Pictured above: Quarterback Jalen Hurts (No. 1) of the Philadelphia Eagles scrambles against the Green Bay Packers in the Nov. 10 “Monday Night Football” game at Lambeau Field, which aired on ABC and ESPN.