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Disney agrees to pay $50 million to YouTube TV and DirecTV subscribers
The Verge • • business
Key Points:
- Disney has agreed to pay $50 million to settle claims that it forced YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream to raise subscription prices, with eligible customers subscribed between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2026 able to claim payouts.
- Claims must be submitted by September 8, 2026, through an online settlement portal, with final payment distribution expected after a court hearing on January 14, 2027.
- The settlement stems from a 2022 class action lawsuit alleging Disney used its ownership of ESPN and Hulu to exert pricing power and force competitors to include ESPN in their channel packages, inflating costs across the streaming market.
- Disney denies any wrongdoing, but the agreement was preliminarily approved by a US district court in Northern California in March 2024.
- This follows prior carriage disputes where Disney temporarily pulled channels from YouTube TV and DirecTV, including a 15-day blackout last year that reportedly cost Disney $110 million in lost revenue.
