YouTube TV viewers no longer can see Disney channels including ABC and ESPN after the two sides failed to agree on a new content distribution deal. Other channels that vanished from Google’s pay TV platform include the Disney Channel, FX and Nat Geo.

Another trend has been the growth of video podcasts, with over a billion people consuming podcasts on YouTube every month. A growing chunk of that usage happens on TV. “There’s over 400 million hours of podcasts watched just in the living room every month,” Wilms says. “We talk about podcasts as the new late-night talk show.”

YouTube says it will refund subscribers $20 if the channels are off the network for too long. YouTube TV is already among the most expensive live digital TV services on offer in the US. And it’s about to pinch its subscribers a little more as it has failed to renew its deal with Disney.

Dhruv Bhutani has been writing about consumer technology since 2008, offering deep insights into the Android smartphone landscape through features and opinion pieces. He joined Android Police in 2023, where he focuses on helping readers make informed ...