The fluorescent lights of the newsroom hummed, a familiar soundtrack to the daily churn. It’s been a week, maybe more, since the Disney-YouTube TV blackout started. You could feel the tension, even over the phone lines.
Morgan Stanley, as per their recent estimates, thinks Disney is losing around $30 million a week. Thirty million. That’s a lot of money, you know? The clock keeps ticking, and the losses mount. The blackout affects ABC and ESPN channels, two of Disney’s biggest draws.
The tricky part is figuring out the long game here. Who blinks first? Disney, with its sprawling empire, or Google, which owns YouTube TV? It feels like a standoff, honestly. Both sides have a lot to lose.
The details, as they trickle out, are a bit dry. Negotiations, sticking points, carriage fees. Still, the impact is real. Viewers are missing their shows, and Disney’s bottom line is feeling the pinch. It’s hard to ignore the numbers, especially when they’re this big.
“The longer this goes on, the more damage it does,” a media analyst told me earlier. They preferred to stay off the record, but the sentiment was clear. The blackout’s a drag. For everyone.
The second week, now. It’s a reminder of how quickly things can change, how fragile these deals can be. And how much is at stake.
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