The news: Disney lost approximately $110 million during a 15-day suspension of its channels on YouTube TV, the company announced in its Monday earnings release. The temporary blackout in November removed access to ABC and ESPN, among other Disney offerings.

Operating income for Disney’s sports segment was $191 million, down a noteworthy 23% YoY.

What happened? The blackout occurred after Disney and Google-owned YouTube TV failed to reach a new distribution agreement.

Disney accused Google of negotiating in bad faith and leveraging its market power to push for below-market carriage fees. Google, meanwhile, argued that Disney was unnecessarily aggressive and held outdated views of the pay TV market.

The dispute was eventually resolved with an agreement that favored YouTube TV, giving its subscribers access to Disney’s new direct-to-consumer ESPN Unlimited service by the end of 2026. Subscribers can also access Disney’s ESPN Unlimited within the YouTube TV platform, a major point of contention during the dispute.

Implications for marketers: Disney’s notable losses from its carriage dispute with YouTube TV, combined with the favorable outcome for the latter, highlights that distributors with scale and engagement can exert leverage over content owners. YouTube TV remains the dominant force in digital pay TV, representing 46.3% of US digital pay TV viewers, well above Hulu + Live TV’s 22.8%.

For marketers, the carriage dispute reinforces the need for live sports in a balanced media mix, even as negotiations determine where and how this inventory will ultimately appear.