Greg Sankey tells fans to watch OU-Tennessee football game on Hulu amid YouTube TV blackout
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SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was in Knoxville on Nov. 1 for the OU-Tennessee football game and was ready to address the YouTube TV blackout of Disney content, which includes this weekend’s SEC football games.
The live-television platform is in the midst of a dispute with Disney, which owns the rights to ESPN and SEC broadcasts.
Sankey told reporters Saturday pregame that he enjoyed the YouTube TV experience, but he since upgraded his Hulu subscription to include access to live ESPN games, he encouraged football fans to do the same via social media.
“My message is pretty simple. I’ve watched the TV ratings this season. I’ve watched every Saturday with the peaks around this conference from all of our games,” Sankey said. “All of our teams are pretty spectacular. We want that interest to be respected and for our fans to have access.”
Both sides are actively working on an agreement to ensure fans continue having access to SEC football every Saturday.
Sankey also said he plans on returning to YouTube TV once the dispute is settled, and hasn’t dropped his subscription.
Watch Oklahoma football vs. Tennessee live with Fubo (free trial)
How to watch OU football vs Tennessee without YouTube TV
- Streaming: ESPN app, Fubo (free trial)
College football games on ABC or ESPN’s family of networks can be accessed with the ESPN app, which requires a valid TV provider subscription other than YouTube TV. Viewers can also access those TV channels with Fubo, which offers a free trial.
Fubo is owned by Disney, which completed its acquisition of the live TV streaming service on Oct. 29.
Did YouTube TV lose ESPN, ABC, ACC, SEC networks?
Disney suspended its TV channels from YouTube TV on Oct. 30, after the two sides couldn’t come to a new agreement.
YouTube TV claimed Disney threatened a blackout as a negotiation tactic and are now following through with the move.
“Members, when we renew our contracts with network partners, we advocate for fair pricing to offer you the best TV experience,” YouTube TV wrote on X. “Our contract with Disney has reached its renewal date, and we’ll not agree to terms that disadvantage our members while benefiting Disney’s TV products.”
Disney and ESPN, obviously, have a different view of the situation.
“Unfortunately, Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to deny their subscribers the content they value the most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC,” ESPN PR wrote. “Without a new agreement in place, their subscribers will not have access to our programming, which includes the best lineup in live sports — anchored by the NFL, NBA, and college football, with 13 of the top 25 college teams playing this weekend.
“With a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor. We know how frustrating this is for YouTube TV subscribers and remain committed to working toward a resolution as quickly as possible.”
ESPN’s top anchor, Scott Van Pelt, also posted a video to social media pointing viewers to “keepmynetworks.com,” which prompts subscribers to reach out to YouTube TV to restore Disney’s TV channels, while personality Stephen A. Smith did the same, among others.
Which Disney TV channels were pulled from YouTube TV?
Here’s the full list of Disney-owned TV channels pulled off YouTube TV:
- 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
- Spanish plan: ESPN Deportes, Baby TV Español, Nat Geo Mundo
USA Today contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Greg Sankey tells fans to watch OU-Tennessee football game on Hulu
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