The Disney-YouTube TV deal is secretly great news for sports fans – here's why

• The new YouTube TV and Disney deal has multiple perks included
• One bonus is access to ESPN Unlimited for no additional cost
• ESPN Unlimited will eventually be available in the YouTube TV app

A couple of days ago, channels owned by Disney started reappearing on YouTube TV after the two companies patched up their differences and signed a new multi-year agreement – but the deal is actually even better news for sports fans than it first appeared.

As spotted by Awful Announcing, the new carriage arrangement between YouTube TV and Disney means that YouTube TV subscribers get an extra perk they didn't have before: access to ESPN Unlimited, including content such as WWE premium live events.

It means events broadcast on ESPN Unlimited channels, including NFL and NBA games, will eventually be available to watch right inside the YouTube TV app. Those channels include ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN U, ESPN News, and ESPN+.

ESPN Unlimited was only launched back in August, bringing together the full suite of ESPN networks in a single $29.99-per-month package that could be bought as a standalone subscription or as part of a Disney+ or Hulu bundle.

Not fully ready yet

However, there is a caveat to all this: YouTube TV won't be fully integrating all of the sports broadcasting offered by ESPN until next year, and it may be the end of 2026 before subscribers can enjoy ESPN content actually inside the YouTube TV app.

This is similar to other technology and engineering problems that have surfaced around ESPN Unlimited, including issues with getting the service integrated into Comcast Xfinity packages. It seems it's quite a complicated process.

The delay notwithstanding, it's still great news for sports fans, who are getting a whole host of extra channels and events with their YouTube TV subscription – even if they have to keep switching between different apps for the time being.

We'll have to wait and see if this has any impact on YouTube TV pricing. A report over at Cord Cutters News floats the idea that YouTube TV may ultimately offer a 'skinny bundle' at a lower cost, specifically for sports content.

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