With its networks blacked out on YouTube TV, ESPN is making its flagship college football pregame show available for free Saturday.
ESPN’s “College Gameday” will be available to watch on the ESPN app without a subscription or authentication Saturday and will also be streamed on the social media website X (formerly Twitter) via Pat McAfee’s feed, ESPN announced.
The move comes as the Disney-owned networks, including ESPN and all ABC stations, are blacked out on YouTube TV as part of a carriage dispute. ESPN has been making a heavy PR push to encourage viewers to put pressure YouTube TV, including recorded messages from talent ranging from Stephen A. Smith to Scott Van Pelt.
The current Disney-YouTube TV spat differs from their previous conflict four years ago in that ESPN now distributes its own programming direct-to-subscriber via its app. (It should be noted that the ESPN direct-to-subscriber option is reportedly not a key issue in the dispute, which according to John Ourand of Puck is purely financial in nature.)
When YouTube TV dropped the Disney networks in December 2021 — a lapse that lasted only 48 hours but covered a full college football Saturday during the bowl season — viewers’ options would have only included subscriptions to other streaming MVPDs or cable. But even those options are different now, with Sling offering low-cost short-term plans for as little as $5 for a single day.
