Disney CFO claims ESPN will continue fight with YouTube TV 'as long they want to'

As the ongoing carriage dispute between Disney and Google‘s popular streaming service YouTube TV enters its third weekend with ABC and ESPN channels blacked out, at least one top Disney executive made it clear the stalemate could continue indefinitely. Not what fans wanted to hear at all.

“We’re ready to go as long as they want to,” Disney chief financial officer Hugh Johnston reportedly told investors during Thursday morning’s quarterly earnings call. That quote came from Sports Business Journal.

Disney CEO Bob Iger also defended the company’s hardline stance with YouTube TV, which is reportedly costing the company $5 million per day, during Thursday’s earnings call. YouTube TV’s blackout of all Disney programming — including ABC and ESPN’s family of channels — hit 14 days on Thursday, the longest it has had with a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD).

“The deal we have proposed is equal to or better than what other large distributors have already agreed to,” Iger said, per Sports Business Journal. “We are not trying to break any new ground. While we have been working tirelessly to close this deal and restore our content to their platform, it is imperative that we make sure we agree to a deal that reflects the value that we deliver, which both YouTube and Alphabet have told us is greater than the value of any other provider. The offer that is on the table is commencing with details that were already struck with distributors larger than they are.”

The ongoing carriage dispute has been particularly costly for YouTube TV customers within the SEC footprint. They have missed out on the last two weekends of SEC football games on both ABC and ESPN’s additional channels like ESPN2 and the SEC Network.

YouTube TV, ESPN ‘remain far apart’ in ongoing carriage dispute

Last week, The Athletic‘s Andrew Marchand revealed both Disney and Google “remain far apart” in their ongoing carriage negotiations, according to Awful Announcing. This is amid a public back-and-forth between the two multi-billion dollar parent companies that involved YouTube TV calling out Disney for “leaking documents to the press, negotiating in public through their paid talent and misrepresenting the facts, including from the deals they’ve offered and taking credit for our product proposals.”

And it appears the sticking point isn’t even the ESPN family of channels, it’s Disney’s price increase to carry ABC, according to Awful Announcing. This week, a YouTube TV spokesperson told Awful Announcing that Disney and Google are in alignment about the price for ESPN. The biggest issue revolves around Disney’s alleged suggestion that more live sports and other events airing on ABC should be worth a higher rate. Meanwhile, YouTube TV and other providers have argued that Disney is in fact, double-dipping, with many programs such as the NFL’s Monday Night Football are often simulcast on ESPN as well.

It’s been an expensive battle for both sides, too. Disney is reportedly losing about $5 million per day and roughly $30 million a week, thanks to being off YouTube TV’s popular streaming platform. Meanwhile, YouTube TV has been losing subscribers to other television streaming services and has already been forced to offer a $20 credit to subscribers who remain.

— On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this report.