Yes. ESPN has been back on YouTube TV since 14 November 2025, when Disney and Google ended a 15-day blackout with a new multi-year agreement. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SEC Network and your local ABC station are all carried today, with no active dispute.
That is the whole answer if you are just checking. What follows is the timeline, what the fight actually cost, and the one piece of the settlement that was announced but never shipped.
The Timeline, With Dates
Disney’s carriage contract with Google expired at 11:59pm Eastern on 30 October 2025. More than twenty Disney-owned channels came off YouTube TV at that moment, including the ESPN networks, ABC and National Geographic.
The two sides announced a new multi-year agreement on 14 November 2025 and the channels returned. The blackout ran 15 days, which made it one of the shorter major carriage disputes but also one of the most visible, because it landed in the middle of college football season and took local ABC off air for millions of households.
| Channel | Status on YouTube TV today |
|---|---|
| ESPN | Carried |
| ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS | Carried |
| SEC Network | Carried |
| ABC (your local affiliate) | Carried |
| ESPN Unlimited (the standalone streaming service) | Announced in the deal, still not launched |
What the Blackout Cost
Disney put a number on it. In its first-quarter results for the 2026 financial year, the company disclosed that the YouTube TV dispute knocked roughly $110 million off ESPN’s operating income for the quarter, as reported by Variety in February 2026.
That figure explains why the standoff was short. Carriage fights are a negotiating tactic, and both sides were bleeding: Disney lost subscriber revenue and advertising reach, while YouTube TV faced cancellations and issued credits to subscribers who had paid for channels they could not watch. Fifteen days was about as long as either party could afford.
It is also a useful gauge for the next one. Disputes of this kind recur across every live-TV service, and the pattern holds: the bigger the sports rights involved, the shorter the blackout tends to be.
The Part of the Deal That Never Arrived
The November settlement included a headline benefit for subscribers: ESPN Unlimited, Disney’s standalone streaming service, would be added for YouTube TV members at no extra cost. Several outlets reported this at the time in the present tense, and a good deal of coverage still online says it is available.
It is not. As of July 2026 it has not launched, and Google has not published a date.
The gap showed up twice in public. YouTube TV subscribers were reported to be without ESPN app access ahead of the Royal Rumble in January 2026, and the same problem was reported again before WrestleMania 42 that April. Eight months on from the announcement, the linear channels are the whole of what the deal has actually delivered.
Bought separately, ESPN Unlimited runs $29.99 a month or $299.99 a year at ESPN’s published rates, with the cheaper ESPN Select tier at $12.99 a month or $129.99 a year. You can check current pricing on ESPN’s own subscription pages. Worth knowing if you are budgeting around a benefit that has not materialised.
It also affects how the services compare. Fubo includes ESPN Unlimited on its Pro and Elite plans right now, which is a real point of difference even though Fubo costs more per month. Our Fubo and YouTube TV comparison works through whether that inclusion is worth the price gap.
If Your ESPN Channels Are Still Missing
The channels returned for everyone in November, so if they are absent from your lineup now it is a device or account issue rather than a carriage one. In rough order of how often each fixes it:
- Restart the YouTube TV app, or the streaming device itself, so it pulls a fresh channel lineup.
- Sign out and back in. This forces the app to reload your channel entitlements, and it clears most cases where the lineup is stale.
- Check your plan. ESPN is on the YouTube TV base plan, but if you are on a promotional or partner-billed package the lineup can differ.
- Check your home area. Your local ABC affiliate depends on your registered location, and ABC availability was never universal on YouTube TV even before the dispute.
If none of that works, it is a support question rather than something you can fix from the app. Current plan details are on the YouTube TV site.
If the disruption made you reconsider the service altogether, our guide to watching live TV without cable compares the alternatives, and the Sling TV channel list covers the cheapest route to ESPN, which is Sling Orange.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ESPN back on YouTube TV?
Yes. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SEC Network and ABC returned on 14 November 2025 under a new multi-year agreement between Disney and Google. They are all carried today and there is no active dispute.
When did ESPN come back to YouTube TV?
14 November 2025. The blackout began when Disney’s contract expired at 11:59pm Eastern on 30 October 2025, so the channels were off for 15 days.
Why was ESPN removed from YouTube TV?
It was a carriage dispute. Disney’s distribution contract with Google expired at the end of October 2025 without a renewal, so Disney pulled more than twenty of its channels. These fights are about how much a provider pays to carry a network, and they usually end with a new multi-year deal.
Is ABC back on YouTube TV?
Yes. ABC was pulled alongside ESPN and returned with the same November 2025 agreement. Your local ABC affiliate is carried again in markets where YouTube TV offered it before the dispute.
Does YouTube TV include ESPN Unlimited?
Not yet. It was announced as part of the November 2025 settlement and reported widely at the time, but it had still not launched as of July 2026 and Google has not given a date. Subscribers were reported without ESPN app access before both the January 2026 Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 42 in April.
How much did the YouTube TV blackout cost Disney?
About $110 million in ESPN operating income for the quarter, disclosed in Disney’s first-quarter results for financial year 2026 and reported by Variety in February 2026.
What should I do if ESPN is still missing from my YouTube TV?
Restart the app or device, then sign out and back in to reload your channel entitlements. If that does not work, check that your plan includes ESPN and that your registered home area is correct, then contact YouTube TV support.
How else can I watch ESPN without YouTube TV?
Sling Orange is the cheapest route at $45.99 a month. Fubo carries ESPN and includes ESPN Unlimited on its Pro and Elite plans. Hulu + Live TV also carries the channel, and ESPN sells a standalone subscription directly.
Last updated 18 July 2026. Carriage status and ESPN Unlimited availability verified on that date. If a new dispute begins, this page is updated.