Streaming: Get ready for more blackouts

Human hand holding a remote control and browsing their streaming service selections

Streamers 'appear far more willing to flex their muscle as their command of audiences continues to grow'

(Image credit: Onfokus / Getty Images)

published 24 November 2025

The 15-day standoff between Disney and Google could change the media landscape forever, said Lukas I. Alpert in MarketWatch. The media giant struck a deal last week to finally get its television channels, including ABC, National Geographic, and ESPN, back on Google’s YouTube TV streaming service, where they had been blacked out since Halloween. Terms of the deal weren’t publicized, but Disney, which was losing $4 million a day in ad revenue, agreed to make its full lineup of sports available on YouTube TV, a substantial concession. The lengthy stalemate “represented a modern twist on an old kind” of media fight—and one that’s happening more often. “Disputes over carriage fees,” or what distributors have to pay TV companies for the rights to show their programming, are a holdover from the cable days. But “the prime battleground today” is streaming— and the streamers “appear far more willing to flex their muscle as their command of audiences continues to grow.” YouTube TV’s market share remains below traditional cable operators like Comcast, Charter, and DirecTV, “but it is fast catching up.” In the entertainment business, “with the eyeballs goes the power.”

Media companies like Disney have fought back against cord-cutting “by squeezing existing pay-TV customers for more money,” said James Faris in Business Insider. It has created “a vicious cycle where fewer people have a pay-TV subscription, except for die-hard fans of sports or cable news.” At some point, pay-TV customers will likely “balk at how high their monthly bills have gotten.” That gives the big streaming platforms an advantage that they can continue to press in future negotiations. This heavyweight battle suggests there will be more such fights “between those who make the content and those who control the pipes,” said Sujeet Indap in the Financial Times. Google, a $3.5 trillion behemoth, clearly isn’t afraid to stand firm on prices. This is the fourth carriage dispute that YouTube TV has been involved in this year alone.

Meanwhile, cord-cutters are being forced to shell out ever more for streaming services, said Melissa Korn in The Wall Street Journal. Since 2019, the monthly price of a Disney+ subscription has gone up 172%, while AppleTV+ has spiked 160% and Peacock 120%. This “streamflation” adds up, because the average U.S. household pays for about 4.5 streaming services. As prices have risen, so have the work-arounds. There are now “more options to switch to lower-cost ad-supported tiers,” if you’re willing to sit through commercials. And some of the streaming companies have started bundling their products again: You can buy a combo of Peacock and Apple TV, or one of ESPN and Fox. All the package deals could save you some money—or, just like in the old cable days, leave you paying for content you never watch.