In case you missed it, YouTube TV dropped Disney-owned channels just before midnight on Friday, December 17th. The change in the channel lineup was caused by YouTube TV and Disney being unable to make an agreement to extend their carriage deal before the current contract expired at midnight. As a result, the following channels and related on-demand content were removed from the live TV streaming service:
- Your local ABC channel
- ABC News Live
- Disney Channel
- Disney Junior
- Disney XD
- Freeform
- FX
- FXX
- FXM
- National Geographic
- National Geographic Wild
- ESPN
- ESPN2
- ESPN3 (by authentication to the ESPN app)
- ESPNU
- ESPNEWS
- SEC Network
- ACC Network
YouTube TV will be decreasing its monthly price from $64.99 to $49.99 due to the channels being dropped. A credit of $15 per month will automatically be issued and will be applied to your next bill after December 17th.
If you’re looking for a different live TV streaming service to keep the channels that have been dropped from YouTube TV, we recommend these five alternatives.
| fuboTV | Hulu + Live | DIRECTV STREAM | Sling Orange + Blue | Vidgo | |
| ABC | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| ABC News Live | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| ACC Network | ✓ | ✓ | ✓* | ✓* | ✓ |
| Disney | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Disney Jr. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓* | ✓ |
| Disney XD | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓* | ✓ |
| ESPN | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| ESPN2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| ESPN3 | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| ESPNews | ✓* | ✓ | ✓* | ✓* | ✓ |
| ESPNU | ✓* | ✓ | ✓* | ✓* | ✓ |
| Freeform | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| FX | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| FXM | ✓* | ✓ | ✓* | ✓* | ✓ |
| FXX | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓* | ✓ |
| Nat Geo | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Nat Geo Wild | ✓* | ✓ | ✓* | ✓* | ✓ |
| SEC Network | ✓ | ✓ | ✓* | ✓* | ✓ |
*requires a plan upgrade or add-on package
fuboTV
- Price: starts at $64.99
- Free trial: click here for 2 week free trial
fuboTV is a sports-centered streaming service that offers Disney-owned channels, locals, and most cable channels, along with some niche sports channels. However, you won’t get WarnerMedia networks like TNT and TBS.
Hulu + Live TV
- Price: $64.99 (but will go up to $69.99 on 12/21)
- Free Trial: click here for a 1 week free trial
If you want a channel lineup that looks most like YouTube TV before Disney-owned channels were dropped, Hulu + Live TV is probably your best bet. Hulu + Live doesn’t have the same unlimited DVR and the price is going up to $70/month soon when live TV subscribers will also get access to Disney+ and ESPN+, so keep that in mind if you’re thinking about switching.
DIRECTV STREAM
- Price: starts at $69.99
- Click here to sign up with a 2 week money-back guarantee
DIRECTV STREAM is also at that $70 price point and you’ll need to upgrade to a more premium package to get some Disney-owned channels including ACC Network and SEC Network. There is no free trial for this service, but you can cancel within 14 days and get refunded.
Sling TV
- Price: starts at $35
- Click here to get your first month for $10
If ESPN is the channel you’ll be missing most from YouTube TV, Sling TV is the cheapest live TV streaming service to offer the channel in its Sling Orange package. If you also want FX and National Geographic, you’ll need to upgrade to Sling Orange + Blue for $50/month. Sling TV does not offer locals but recommends using an antenna to get those channels for free.
Vidgo
- Price: Starts at $55
- Click here to get a 7 day free trial
Vidgo has the full lineup of Disney-owned channels (with the exception of ESPN 3) and comes in at a lower price than most of the competitors. However, it’s missing locals other than ABC and doesn’t have the DVR you’ll get with YouTube TV and other services.