Dana Walden, Alan Bergman and Jimmy Pitaro argue Google-owned service of trying to ‘eliminate competition’
Disney Entertainment chiefs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman have accused YouTube of wanting to “eliminate competition”, amid the Google-owned operator’s latest carriage dispute in the US.
YouTube TV cut Disney-owned channels including ABC, Nat Geo and ESPN late last week, after the companies failed to strike a new distribution agreement, although discussions between the parties continue.
YouTube said Disney’s terms would “disadvantage our members while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products”, while the Mouse House argued the streamer was using its size to secure a better deal.
“With a $3tn market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor,” Disney said in a statement.
Walden, Bergman and ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro then wrote in a staff memo that the Google-owned service was “not interested in a fair deal.”
“[YouTube’s] 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 trio added: “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.”
YouTube’s battle with Disney follows similar disputes with companies including TelevisaUnivision, whose channels have been unavailable via the Google service for more than a month.
It is also not the first time that Disney channels have been removed from YouTube TV, following a 2021 dispute that was eventually resolved.
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