Sports fans can’t watch certain games, and fingers are starting to be pointed.
ESPN is coming under fire for its role in the Disney-YouTube contract dispute, with Barstool’s Dan “Big Cat” Katz slamming the company for its part in the drama, while Pat McAfee has called out his employer over its messaging in the mess that is preventing sports fans from watching ESPN content on YouTube TV.
“ESPN is f–king everyone because ESPN’s got a new app … and they also own Hulu and Fubo,” Katz said Monday on “Pardon My Take.” “They’re screwing over everyone who has cut the cord and went to YouTube TV, and it’s just f–ked up. It’s f–ked up.
“They’re just screwing over the consumer, the people who just want to watch sports. I just want to watch sports. That’s all I want to watch. The shows I watch are on Netflix or HBO. Let me just watch sports. I don’t watch any other TV besides sports. Give me all the sports in one place and let me pay for that, and stop with this bulls–t where everyone is trying to squeeze each other out for an extra dollar, screwing over the people who just want to watch sports.”
Sports fans like Katz are upset since the two streaming giants could not come to terms on an agreement, leading to ABC, FX, and ESPN, among others, being removed from YouTube TV.
This meant YouTube TV customers could not watch the Cardinals’ 27-17 win over the Cowboys on “Monday Night Football,” among other events.
Disney slammed YouTube TV in a statement, alleging that Google — which owns YouTube — won’t pay “fair rates” for its channels.
YouTube TV countered that Disney is trying to raise prices on its content, and used the threatened and then-executed blackout as a bargaining tactic.
The sides remained “far apart on price,” Sports Business Journal reported Monday.
Before the blackout, several prominent ESPN personalities — Mike Greenberg, Stephen A. Smith and Scott Van Pelt — released videos to social media calling for YouTube TV customers to take action and visit keepmynetworks.com, seemingly to increase the pressure on the company.
McAfee, never afraid to call out his own company, didn’t approve of that tactic.
“We’re all done with it,” McAfee said Tuesday on his self-named show.
“And also, if you’re on TV, stop telling people to go to a website to save a multi-billion-dollar deal. Nobody cares what you have to say. There will be nothing that we say or any website that will be visited, that will get this thing — there are, I don’t want to say the exact names, but these people (with hands held high), let’s put our swords down. Let’s put our swords down for the good of sports.
“We need each other. Need each other. A lot of people saying ‘greedy corporate,’ it’s like, yeah. We need each other, especially with where sports are right now. And we’re in the middle of it, so let’s get that done. Let’s get that done. And stop asking me to go to a website. I don’t want to do that, so stop … All you’re doing is pissing everybody off even more. So it’s like, let’s just not do that.”
How to watch ESPN and ABC for free without YouTube TV
There are a few other live TV streaming services offering great deals and channels that YouTube TV customers no longer have access to.
DIRECTV offers a free 5-day trial covering all the affected channels with plans starting at just $49.99/month for your first month. That unlocks NFL, NBA, NHL, and college football across ESPN, ABC, and more, plus regional sports networks in most markets, all for one price.
If you’re not ready to commit to a full subscription and just want to catch a night of sports on ESPN, Sling TV is an excellent alternative due to the unmatched flexibility it offers with plans that include one-day passes. Sling Orange Day Passes are priced at $4.99, and you’ll get 24 hours of access to all Sling TV Orange has to offer, including ESPN and ESPN2.
