It’s Day 7 of the YouTube TV blackout for ESPN, ABC and other Disney networks, and subscribers to the Internet TV service are running out of patience.
Just before midnight ET on Thursday, October 30, the Disney Networks blacked out on the YouTube TV service as Disney and Google distanced themselves over a deal before their previous contract expired. The main beef is price: Google says Disney is demanding an unprecedented fee increase for its full suite of ESPN channels, ABC and more, while Disney says the tech giant “refuses to pay fair rates for our channels.”
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YouTube TV subscribers grew more frustrated with each day the power went out after missing a week of shows, including last Saturday’s college football on ESPN and Monday Night Football.
According to a new survey, when YouTube TV subscribers were asked what they had done or planned to do in response to the Google-Disney standoff, 24% of respondents said they had already canceled or were considering canceling their YouTube TV subscription because the service “no longer provides the core content they signed up for.” This is according to a survey of about 1,100 US consumers conducted this week by the market research company Drive Research.
Additionally, 30% of YouTube TV subscribers said they subscribed or plan to subscribe directly to ESPN Unlimited or Hulu + Live TV to maintain access to the sports events and networks they want to watch. About 22% said they use or (believe they will use) someone else’s login details for ESPN or Hulu + Live TV, while 15% admitted they have used or may consider illegal streaming.
If the blackout persists, YouTube TV churn is expected to increase sharply, with 82% of survey respondents saying they are “likely” to cancel their subscriptions if the Disney-Google dispute isn’t resolved soon (although the survey didn’t ask for a specific time frame). But remember that there are differences between people saying they will cancel the service and those who actually do it.
When asked who was to blame, 58% of respondents said that both Disney and Google were equally to blame, with 37% pointing the finger at Disney and 5% blaming Google. The bottom line is that YouTube TV’s customers are tired — they’re tired of being the negotiators in a dispute between two giant corporations.
The majority of YouTube TV customers (56%) said they signed up to the service primarily to watch live sports, followed by the overall channel group (43%) and access to the ABC (33%). About 27% said YouTube’s NFL Sunday Ticket was also influential; The Sunday Ticket is also available on YouTube without a YouTube TV subscription. Price and features also matter: 51% cited YouTube TV’s lower cost than cable or other pay TV options, while 47% said they value the ability to share the service with household members or use multiple streams, and 40% ordered video quality and reliability.
YouTube says YouTube TV customers will receive a one-time $20 credit if the Disney networks are unavailable for an “extended” period. (According to a YouTube spokesperson, the company has not released anything specific about when the credit will be issued, but said subscribers will receive an email once the credit has been issued.)
But many YouTube TV customers said the $20 credit wouldn’t be enough to keep them from canceling, with only 30% agreeing, while 44% disagreed and 26% were neutral, according to the survey. This shows that “the one-time credit does not match the emotional and practical loss of ESPN and ABC for many subscribers,” according to Drive Research.
The results are based on an online survey conducted by Drive Research of 1,107 consumers who use streaming and live TV services. The company said the sample size margin of error is approximately +/- 3% at a 95% confidence level.
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