ABC, ESPN and other Disney-owned networks have gone dark on YouTube TV after a carriage dispute between the two companies escalated Thursday night, hours before their current contract was officially set to expire.

In a rare break from industry protocol, the blackout occurred shortly after 11:15 pm ET, ahead of the midnight expiration. Sources familiar with the negotiations said that YouTube required extra operational time to wind down the service and notify its subscribers.

This has left around 10 million YouTube TV customers without access to major programming, including Thursday Night shows on ABC, college football, and other high-profile sports events.

“Unfortunately, Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to deny their subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rate

See Full Page