YouTube TV Dispute Receives Major Update Ahead of Texas vs. Georgia

The Texas Longhorns and Georgia Bulldogs are set to square off on ABC, a Disney-owned channel that has been unavailable on YouTube TV due to the recent contract dispute.

Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton drops back to pass against the Texas Longhorns during the second half in the 2024 SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The highly-anticipated SEC matchup between the Texas Longhorns and Georgia Bulldogs in Athens is now set to be available to a larger viewing audience.

Per reports from On3, Google -- which owns YouTube TV -- and Disney have finally come to an agreement on a new contract after a lengthy dispute that forced Disney-owned channels like ABC and ESPN off of the streaming platform.

This means that college football fans will be able to watch games on ABC and ESPN this weekend, which includes the Texas-Georgia game on ABC at 7:30 p.m. CT Saturday night.

YouTube TV's Statement

In a statement obtained by On3, YouTube TV says that the new deal with Disney "preserves the value of our service" for customers.

“We’re happy to share that we’ve reached an agreement with Disney that preserves the value of our service for our subscribers and future flexibility in our offers,” a YouTube TV spokesperson told On3. “Subscribers should see channels including ABC, ESPN and FX returning to their service over the course of the day, as well as any recordings that were previously in their Library. We apologize for the disruption and appreciate our subscribers’ patience as we negotiated on their behalf. “

Other ESPN channels like the SEC Network and ACC Network had been unavailable to college football fans on YouTube TV over the past two weeks. The NFL's Monday Night Football broadcast was also unavailable during the dispute, as Week 9's Dallas-Arizona game and Week 10's Green Bay-Philadelphia

This dispute was particularly impactful to YouTube TV customers who also happened to be fans of SEC teams, as the conference has an exclusive deal with ABC and the ESPN family of networks.

Aside from the season opener against Ohio State -- which streamed on FOX -- Texas has had all of its games this season on either ABC, ESPN or SEC Network.

One bright spot is that YouTube TV said it will offer subscribers a $20 credit if the dispute continues "for an extended period of time." However, it's safe to say the end of the dispute is even better news.

It's likely that the matchup Texas and Georgia will now see an increase in viewership numbers with the dispute now over.