The YouTube TV Disney blackout continues: How to watch Wednesday NBA games and prep for weekend college football
Engadget
The Disney/YouTube TV saga, now in its second week, is still showing no sign of a resolution. While the blackout is painful for subscribers who have been left without access to over 20 channels, Disney is also feeling the pinch, with reports estimating they're losing $4.3 million per day during the dispute. The good news for YouTube subscribers is that the platform has finally started issuing $20 credits as consolation for their troubles, but will that be enough to keep their base from jumping ship and finding a new streaming service? As a reminder of how we got here, the Walt Disney Co. pulled its channels from YouTube TV on Oct. 30 after the two companies failed to reach new terms on their latest carriage agreement, and YouTube TV subscribers have gone without NFL, NBA and NCAA games on ABC and ESPN's suite of channels for two straight weekends. With no agreement in sight, YouTube TV subscribers will be left in the dark for tonight's NBA games, too.
Tonight's basketball games between the Orlando Magic vs. New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder both air on ESPN, so if you want to catch either game (or watch The Golden Bachelor season finale on ABC!), you'll need to seek out alternative viewing methods. And unfortunately for YouTube TV's negotiating position, there are plenty of options.
One of the cheapest ways to watch ESPN is with a Sling Day Pass — for just $5/day, you can tune into any and all ESPN programming with no other commitments. If you want a full switch from YouTube TV, there's Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV, or Fubo, where you can watch all the Disney-owned channels. (Remember, unlike a lot of cable plans, you can easily pause or cancel YouTube TV or any of these alternatives, so long as you have month-to-month subscriptions.) Below, we've outlined some of your best options to watch ESPN, the Disney Channel, ABC and more, all pulled from our list of best live TV streaming services to cut cable, as well as a comprehensive list of which channels have been affected, and the biggest sporting events of the week that won't be available to YouTube TV subscribers.
What games are on ESPN/ABC this week?
If you're wondering what games you might miss as a result of the YouTube TV/Disney blackout, here's a list of some upcoming sports you may not want to miss:
NBA
Wednesday, Nov. 12
7 p.m. | Orlando Magic vs. New York Knicks | ESPN
9:35 p.m. | Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder | ESPN
NCAA Football
Thursday, Nov. 13
7:30 p.m. | Troy at Old Dominion | ESPN
Friday, Nov. 14
5:30 p.m. | South Carolina State at North Carolina Central | ESPN27:30 p.m. | Clemson at No. 20 Louisville | ESPN
Grab an ESPN bundle so you won't miss the NFL, NBA or any other games
Get Hulu + Live TV at a great price
Try Fubo free for a week and get $30 your first month
Try DirecTV free for 5 days, and get $30 off your first month
What about Sling "day passes"?
You may have heard that Sling offers day, weekend and week passes to its streaming programming for as little as $5 per day. That is an option if you're looking for just some of the ESPN channels (the Sling Orange tier), but ABC isn't included. (If you're just looking to catch one of this week's big games, like Monday Night Football on ESPN, it's a great short-term solution.) If you want a longer-term solution, you can get both ESPN and ABC with Sling's Orange and Blue package ($30 a month to start, $61 thereafter), but you'll need to add on the Sports Extra package for ESPNU, which requires an additional charge.
Get your local Disney/ABC programming for free
Need your local ABC programming? Your station may have its own free local streaming news channel (many do), you can see if The Roku Channel carries your local station's news, or download your local news station app if it's a Nexstar channel.
The other alternative — if you're within the broadcast radius of a local ABC affiliate — is to get an over-the-air antenna. You can plug in your ZIP code at antennaweb.org to see what channels are in your area. This off-brand unit has worked very well in our initial testing — it's under $30, and the channels are truly free.
Which channels are no longer available on YouTube TV?
Every channel that's owned by The Walt Disney Company is currently blacked out on YouTube TV. Those channels are:
ABC
ABC News Live
ACC Network
Disney Channel
Disney Junior
Disney XD
ESPN
ESPNews
ESPN2
ESPNU
Freeform
FX
FXM
FXX
Localish
Nat Geo
Nat Geo Wild
SEC Network
ESPN Deportes
Baby TV Español
Nat Geo Mundo
Update Nov. 10 2025, 4:43PM ET: This story has been updated to include news on the $20 rebate for YouTube TV subscribers, as well as to update the list of upcoming football games for the week.
Update Nov. 6 2025, 4:38PM ET: This story has been updated to include viewing info for weekend college football games, as well as the next Monday Night Football.
Update Nov. 5 2025, 12:32PM ET: This story has been updated to include detailed info on tonight's ESPN NBA games.
Update Nov. 3 2025, 6:36PM ET: This story has been updated to include YouTube TV's latest response to Disney's request to restore its channels for just 24 hours.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/the-youtube-tv-disney-blackout-continues-how-to-watch-wednesday-nba-games-and-prep-for-weekend-college-football-173330100.html?src=rss