Editor's note: YouTube TV and Disney managed to reach an agreement on Sunday (Dec 19); YouTube TV announced the news online and said the $15 discount is still in place The original text of this article is as follows

It did indeed happen; YouTube TV and Disney failed to reach an agreement to renew the contract at midnight EST, so that Friday (December 17) became Saturday (December 18)

Disney and Google-owned YouTube TV had prepared for this possibility by issuing statements earlier this week on the contract renewal issue Now you can see for yourself (in the screenshot below) that ABC, ESPN, and other Disney-owned channels are no longer offered on YouTube TV

A YouTube blog update by the YouTube team states, "We have been negotiating in good faith with Disney for months Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach an equitable agreement before our existing contract expired and their channel is no longer available on YouTube TV We are reducing our monthly fee by $15 from $6499 to $4999 while this content is off our platform"

This is a morphing of YouTube TV; YouTube TV and NBCUniversal actually worked out this October (so that NBC, USA, and other channels could remain); YouTube TV and Roku have also worked out their issues and are now offering YouTube and YouTube TV apps to remain in the Roku Channel Store Tonight's story is different

Since we tested the best streaming services, we have recommendations on what to do if you really want Disney-owned ESPN, ABC and the rest of those channels Neither is available a la carte, as even ESPN Plus does not include ESPN's live channels

Two alternatives to cable to consider are fuboTV ($65/month) and Sling TV (starting at $35/month) If you need ABC above all else, choose fubo If ESPN is more important, go with Sling TV

But one problem about starting a new account with any of these services now is that YouTube TV and Disney could fix things sooner or later Fortunately, fubo has a 7-day free trial; Sling does not currently offer a free trial, but has reduced its first-month fee to $10

Under these circumstances, the companies' excuses and explanations fall on deaf ears

The Hollywood Reporter quotes a statement from Disney" Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution has a proven track record of negotiating such agreements with providers of all types and sizes across the country with great success and is committed to working with Google to reach a fair and market-based agreement"

The original Google/YouTube TV blog post on the issue stated, "Our request to Disney, as with all our partners, is to treat YouTube TV like any other TV provider If Disney is willing to offer fair terms, we will renew our agreement with them"

In an update posted at the time of the failed contract renewal, the YouTube post also attempted to save face with customers This is frustrating news for our customers and we know it is not what we wanted We will continue to engage in dialogue with Disney on behalf of our customers in an effort to bring Disney content back to YouTube TV In the meantime, we will soon update this website with the latest updates, including affected channels, alternative ways to continue enjoying some of Disney's content on The Disney Bundle, information about our price reductions, and any other questions you may have about this situation We will update this page as soon as possible"

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