YouTube TV, Disney carriage dispute: How to watch Eagles vs. Packers MNF game

In just a few hours, the Green Bay Packers host the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football to close out of the Week 10 NFL slate. Of course, YouTube TV customers want to know how they can watch as the carriage dispute with Disney continues.

As Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy previously reported, the league is allowing ESPN to simulcast Monday Night Football on ABC in Week 10 and Week 11. By simulcasting Monday Night Football to ABC, subscribers can buy an antenna and watch the Packers-Eagles game over the air if they cannot watch on YouTube TV.

ABC and ESPN have both been blacked out on YouTube TV for more than a week after Disney’s carriage deal with YouTube TV expired. The two sides continue to negotiate, and the dispute has cost YouTube TV’s roughly 10 million subscribers two weeks of college football action.

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 the Week 9 Monday Night Football matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals.

When ESPN and the other Disney channels went dark, the service said subscribers would receive a credit if the blackout went on for an “extended period” of time. YouTube TV said Saturday it would offer a $20 credit if a deal didn’t come together with Disney by Sunday, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported. Both sides negotiated Saturday but failed to reach a resolution.

YouTube TV, Disney dispute continues

Monday Night Football saw a ratings decrease from Week 9 of the NFL season a year ago. The matchup between the Cowboys and Cardinals averaged 16.2 million viewers. That was roughly a 20% decrease from last year’s Week 9 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In a memo to Disney employees Friday, obtained by On3, executives indicated the blackout was likely to continue into the weekend. They said they did not know when the channels would return as negotiations continue.

“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?” read the memo, written by 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.”

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.