Disney CFO claims ESPN will continue fight with YouTube TV 'as long they want to' [View all]

As the ongoing carriage dispute between Disney and Google‘s popular streaming service YouTube TV enters its third weekend with ABC and ESPN channels blacked out, at least one top Disney executive made it clear the stalemate could continue indefinitely. Not what fans wanted to hear at all.

“We’re ready to go as long as they want to,” Disney chief financial officer Hugh Johnston reportedly told investors during Thursday morning’s quarterly earnings call. That quote came from Sports Business Journal.

Disney CEO Bob Iger also defended the company’s hardline stance with YouTube TV, which is reportedly costing the company $5 million per day, during Thursday’s earnings call. YouTube TV’s blackout of all Disney programming — including ABC and ESPN’s family of channels — hit 14 days on Thursday, the longest it has had with a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD).

“The deal we have proposed is equal to or better than what other large distributors have already agreed to,” Iger said, per Sports Business Journal. “We are not trying to break any new ground. While we have been working tirelessly to close this deal and restore our content to their platform, it is imperative that we make sure we agree to a deal that reflects the value that we deliver, which both YouTube and Alphabet have told us is greater than the value of any other provider. The offer that is on the table is commencing with details that were already struck with distributors larger than they are.”




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