"The bad news: Disney warned in its latest annual report that more TV blackouts may be ahead. Disney has distribution contracts with pay-TV providers expiring in its fiscal year 2026, and told investors in its yearly 10-K form that negotiations "could lead to temporary or longer-term service blackouts." These contracts can vary in length but typically last for three to five years."
""There's a good chance" that carriage disputes between media firms and pay-TV providers will become commonplace in 2026, given the state of the TV industry, media analyst Alan Wolk of TVREV told Business Insider. "There's fewer and fewer video viewers," Wolk said, referring to pay-TV subscriptions. "And I think that the media companies are just like, 'OK, now we can really press our advantage.'""
"Disney's argument, as Wolk noted, is that it owns highly valuable sports rights that make its networks a must-carry for any major TV provider. But at some point, pay-TV customers could balk at how high their monthly bills have gotten. Google had said that paying Disney's desired rates would have required it to raise YouTube TV's price for the second time in a year."
Disney and YouTube TV reached a deal after a 15-day blackout that restored Disney-owned channels, including ESPN. Disney warned in its annual report that distribution contracts expiring in fiscal 2026 could lead to temporary or longer-term blackouts. Media analysts expect more carriage disputes in 2026 as shrinking pay-TV audiences give media companies leverage in negotiations. Cord-cutting has left fewer subscribers, prompting media firms and providers to seek higher fees from remaining customers, often driven by premium sports and cable-news demand. Google said meeting Disney's requested rates would have forced a second YouTube TV price increase within a year.
Read at Business Insider
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