Tommy Tuberville calls for YouTube TV, Disney to 'get their act together' amid ESPN blackout

Saturday afternoon, both Alabama and Auburn will be in action. But both teams play on ESPN networks, meaning YouTube TV subscribers will not be able to watch amid the carriage dispute with Disney and ongoing blackout.

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who is also running for governor of Alabama, made his thoughts clear on the issue. He called for both sides to “get their act together” so fans can watch the games.

Alabama and LSU will square off in primetime in ABC, which is owned by Disney and not available on YouTube TV. Auburn, meanwhile, will take on Vanderbilt at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN-run SEC Network. With fans wanting to watch both games, Tuberville said both Disney and YouTube TV must get a deal together.

Alabamians are excited to watch Bama/LSU and Auburn/Vandy this weekend….

But they may not be able to if @YouTubeTV doesn’t get their act together.

Give your customers what they are paying for @google.

— Tommy Tuberville (@CoachForGov) November 7, 2025

“Alabamians are excited to watch Bama/LSU and Auburn/Vandy this weekend,” Tuberville wrote on X. “But they may not be able to if @YouTubeTV doesn’t get their act together. Give your customers what they are paying for @google.”

The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand first reported the two sides “remain far apart” on a deal as of Friday morning. In a memo to Disney employees, obtained by On3, executives indicated the blackout was likely to continue into the weekend.

“We realize this has been a challenging week, with everyone asking the same question as millions of YouTube TV subscribers during the busiest time of the year in sports: When will ESPN and ABC be back on the service?” reads the memo from Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro. “We wish we could give you that answer today, but unfortunately, we are headed into another sports-packed weekend without a deal in place.”

YouTube TV responded Friday with a statement. The service called 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.”

The carriage deal between Disney and YouTube TV expired Oct. 30 at 11:59 p.m. ET. However, the networks went dark at approx. 11:27 p.m. ET that night – prior to the deal’s expiration. The blackout then continued through Week 10 of the college football season, as well as Monday Night Football between the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys.

For fans hoping to catch ESPN College GameDay, the network is taking a similar approach to Week 10. It will be available live on Pat McAfee’s X account. Last week, the account brought in 1.2 million unique users on the page last week, ESPN announced.