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GOOD evening, Miss Ruth, house Bubbles?

Yes please, I tell my lovely waiter Noor.  

My seven-day cruise around the English Channel was getting off to a sparkling start — and I felt pampered from day one. 

The cruise was for the over-50s and I soon discovered that you don’t have to be young to have fun.  

Many of my fellow Boomers told me they return to Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambience to take in “the warmest welcome at sea” again and again. 

Ambassador, launched four years ago, specialises in no-fly sailings from home ports including Tilbury, Essex, just an hour’s drive from home for me. 

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Its Ambience ship has capacity for 1,400 passengers, so it’s smaller and less crowded than many of the mega-liners of today.  

Our ports of call were all places I had on my wish list. Fowey in Cornwall, the Isles Of Scilly, Guernsey in the Channel Islands and Honfleur in France. 

The food on board was exceptional. On the first night I enjoyed a special of steak and lobster for a small extra cost, served by waiter Adie.

He and Noor felt like friends by the end of the trip. After dinners, drinks in one of the many lounges or bars beckoned, or even a quiz, ending the evenings with a theatre show. 

My Expedition Drinks Package took away any worries about a drinks bill at the end of the trip. 

On the first day at sea I swam in the seawater pool — nippy but refreshing. But there are lots of other ways to relax too, including spa treatments. I was treated to an excellent Indian head massage.  

On the first of two formal dress-up nights I was lucky enough to dine with Captain Hugh Maynard, who was great company.  

For more laid-back, buffet-style meals, Borough Market serves fish and chips, roasts, curries, stir fries, salads and more.

I also loved the luxury of dining in the upmarket Sea And Grass restaurant. The seven-course tasting menu was fabulous.  

Saffron is another speciality restaurant for curry fans. Worth paying a little extra for. 

Our first stop was Fowey in Cornwall and The Lost Gardens of Heligan. We also passed author Daphne du Maurier’s former home in this very pretty town — no wonder Dawn French bought a house there too.  

Cute puffins 

The subtropical Lost Gardens are about 40 minutes from Fowey. Giant ferns, palm trees and exotic plants dominate on the 200-acre site created in the 18th and 19th centuries.  

Our next stop, and my favourite of the trip, was the Isles of Scilly.  

As the ship sailed past the outer, uninhabited islands, they were swathed in mist, making them look more mysterious.  

Our last stop was in Honfleur in Normandy. Popular excursions included Monet’s house and gardens, the D-Day beaches and the Bayeux Tapestry.

We dropped anchor outside the harbour of the biggest island, St Mary’s. There are five inhabited islands and over 140 smaller uninhabited ones and rocks here. 

We were picked up directly from the ship for a wildlife tour onboard an open-decked vessel of the St Mary’s Boatmen’s Association. Over an hour and a half we spotted Atlantic grey seals and an array of birds, including cute puffins.  

Other guests had chosen a boat trip to the island of Tresco to see the spectacular subtropical gardens there. This small taste of these stunning islands — with their white, sandy beaches and clear, turquoise seas, more like the Caribbean than Cornwall — will definitely lure me back. 

Next stop was Guernsey. Docking in the capital St Peter Port, I did a spot of VAT-free shopping along the town’s pretty cobbled streets.  

Other passengers chose to discover the island’s wartime history or its beautiful landscape by vintage bus.  

Our last stop was in Honfleur in Normandy. Popular excursions included Monet’s house and gardens, the D-Day beaches and the Bayeux Tapestry, but a simple stroll around this beautiful place is a delight.  

With its timber-framed houses and pretty Old Harbour and cafes and restaurants lining the quays, it is perfect for a lunch or just a beer. Also worth a peek is the 15th-century Saint Catherine’s Church — the largest wooden church in France.  

Leaving France on the last night of my cruise, I had plenty of special memories — and plans to make for my next sail-away adventure. 

Spanish language network Univision is back on YouTube TV after parent company TelevisaUnivision reached a new distribution agreement with the Google-owned streaming service.

TelevisaUnivision announced Wednesday that it has a multi-year “expanded partnership” with YouTube TV, which will carry the company’s U.S. networks including Univision, Unimas, TUDN and Galavisión on its base plan available to its 10 million subscribers.

The deal ends a two-month blackout of the channels, including Los Angeles flagship KMEX.

Under the new pact, YouTube will also make Univision’s subscription streaming service Vix available on its Primetime Channels hub.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement that restores Univision to YouTube TV, ensuring millions of Hispanics can access the news, sports, and entertainment they care about and have relied on for over 70 years,” said Daniel Alegre, CEO of TelevisaUnivision, said in a statement.

YouTube TV had sought to move Univision’s channels to a more expensive Spanish-language add-on package, amounting to an 18% fee increase for customers.

Putting Univision on a higher-priced tier also would have cut into subscriber revenues, as the fees the networks received are based on the number of customers paying for the higher-priced tier.

The proposal became a major sticking point in negotiations, keeping the Univision channels off YouTube TV since Sept. 30 and drawing the attention of Washington. A number of legislators expressed concerns that consumers were being asked to pay more for Spanish-language programming.

YouTube TV was introduced in 2017 as a lower-priced alternative to cable and satellite packages. But the cost of programming goes up with every deal made to carry major networks, leading to blackouts and tense negotiations.

The Walt Disney Co.’s networks, including ESPN, were off YouTube TV for 10 days before the two sides could agree on a new carriage deal on Nov. 14.

NBCUniversal’s channels were also at risk of being pulled before a new deal was reached on Oct. 2.

The price of a YouTube TV subscription — $82.99 a month — has more than doubled since the service launched.

Subscribers of sports streaming service Fubo TV have lost access to channels owned by NBCUniversal in the latest TV distribution dust-up.

Fubo blasted NBCUniversal for its stance during collapsed contract negotiations, resulting in a blackout of NBCUniversal channels just days before Thanksgiving when scores of viewers hunker down for turkey and football. NBC is set to broadcast the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the National Dog Show and Thursday night’s NFL game featuring the Cincinnati Bengals battling the Baltimore Ravens. The events also will stream on Peacock.

The blackout, which also includes Bravo, CNBC and Spanish-language Telemundo, affects Fubo’s nearly 1.6 million customers.

The dispute comes a month after NBCUniversal’s rival, Walt Disney Co., acquired the controlling stake of Fubo and folded the smaller sports-centric offering into Disney’s Hulu + Live TV. (Hulu + subscribers still have NBCUniversal channels available because they are covered by a separate distribution contract.)

Fubo customers could also miss NBC’s broadcast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

(Eduardo Munoz Avarez / Associated Press)

In its Tuesday statement, Fubo alleged that NBCUniversal had refused to give Fubo leeway to offer just a few of its channels — rather than its entire portfolio. Fubo is looking to control costs and designed its product to be a slimmed-down version of a bulky bundle — but one with a heavy complement of sports networks.

Fubo also took issue with NBCUniversal negotiating on behalf of the cable channels that NBCUniversal plans to cast off in January as part of a corporate split.

Legacy cable channels including MS Now (formerly MSNBC), Syfy, CNBC, USA Network and Golf Channel will be form the new publicly traded company, Versant.

“Fubo offered to distribute Versant channels for one year,” Fubo said in its statement, adding that it views most of those networks as “not being worth the cost.”

“NBCU wants Fubo to sign a multi-year deal – well past the time the Versant channels will be owned by a separate company,” Fubo said. “NBCU wants Fubo subscribers to subsidize these channels.”

NBCUniversal, owned by cable and broadband giant Comcast, countered that it had offered Fubo similar terms to those contained in deals struck with other pay-TV distributors — but Fubo balked.

“Unfortunately, this is par for the course for Fubo,” NBCUniversal said. “They’ve dropped numerous networks in recent years at the expense of their customers, who continue to lose content.”

The Nov. 21 blackout came one week after Disney resolved a separate, high-profile dispute with Google’s YouTube TV. That dispute, which resulted in a two-week blackout of Disney-owned channels, including ESPN, for about 10 million YouTube TV customers, hinged on fee increases sought by Disney.

The two companies also tussled over YouTube TV’s desire to offer the ESPN streaming app to its customers at no extra cost.

They reached a compromise, and YouTube came away with authorization to provide some ESPN streaming content.

In September, YouTube TV avoided a similar blackout of NBC channels by making a deal just hours before the deadline.

Disney acquired 70% of Fubo TV in October 2025.

(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

Fubo pointed to NBCUniversal’s recent deals with YouTube TV and Amazon Prime Video, which allows those companies to offer NBC’s streaming app Peacock as part of their channel stores. Fubo alleged that NBC refused to give Fubo the same rights.

“Fubo is committed to bringing its subscribers a premium, competitively-priced live TV streaming experience with the content they love,” Fubo said. “That includes multiple content options, including a sports-focused service, that can be accessed directly from the Fubo app. We hope NBCU reconsiders their stance, or we’ll be forced to move forward without them.”

ESPN football is returning to YouTube TV after the service and The Walt Disney Co. settled their contentious contract dispute — ending the 15-day blackout of Disney channels.

The Disney-owned channels and ABC station signals were being restored for YouTube TV’s 10 million customers, the companies announced late Friday. The breakthrough came after the companies agreed on a new distribution deal for YouTube, which is owned by Google, replacing the previous pact that had expired on Oct. 30.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

“This new agreement reflects our continued commitment to delivering exceptional entertainment and evolving with how audiences choose to watch,’’ Disney Entertainment Co-Chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement.

“It recognizes the tremendous value of Disney’s programming and provides YouTube TV subscribers with more flexibility and choice. We are pleased that our networks have been restored in time for fans to enjoy the many great programming options this weekend, including college football.”

The outage surpassed the length of last year’s clash between Disney and DirecTV, which saw Disney channels being dropped for 13 days.

YouTube and Disney have been bickering over distribution fees. Google had rebuffed Disney’s earlier demands for fee increases to carry ESPN, ABC and other channels. The Burbank entertainment giant wanted to maintain revenue to help pay for Disney’s content production, streaming ambitions and ESPN’s gargantuan sports rights deals, including long-term contracts with the NFL and the NBA.

YouTube pushed back, pointing to declining viewership for ABC and other channels, for which Disney had been seeking fee increases.

Disney and other programmers have been trying to boost fees to offset the loss of pay-TV customers who have cut the cord or switched to smaller streaming bundles. YouTube also had accused Disney of holding out in an effort to scoop up aggravated YouTube TV subscribers considering a switch to its Fubo or Hulu + Live TV services, which compete directly with YouTube TV. The services offer most of the same TV channels.

The dispute highlighted the ongoing tensions between pay-TV distributors and programmers amid the shift to streaming. In 2021, the Disney channels were knocked off YouTube TV for two days in an earlier fee dispute.

A shrinking pool of big-bundle subscribers increasingly has been asked to shoulder higher programming expenses. Distributors, including YouTube TV, have tried to hold the line on prices, cognizant that their customers are tired of ever-escalating monthly bills. YouTube TV offered a package of channels for $35 a month when it launched in 2017. The service now costs $82.99 a month.

The cost of carrying broadcast channels (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) and sports networks, including ESPN, has skyrocketed due to the huge jump in costs for TV rights deals with major sports leagues. ESPN is the most expensive basic cable channel, costing pay-TV distributors nearly $10 a month per subscriber home.

Disney has defended its costs to pay-TV distributors, arguing that it provides high-quality programming that consumers love.

The company also is trying to transition its businesses to focus more heavily on direct-to-consumer streaming services, including Disney+ and Hulu + Live TV, that bypass the traditional pay-TV distributors.

The skirmish was just the latest between YouTube and a major programming company.

Since August, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp., Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Spanish-language broadcaster Univision have all complained that YouTube TV has been trying to use its market muscle to squeeze them for concessions.

“Rather than compete on a level playing field, Google’s YouTube TV has approached these negotiations as if it were the only player in the game,” the Disney executives Pitaro, Bergman and Walden wrote in an Nov. 7 email sent to employees.

YouTube TV customers have been without Univision and Unimas since Sept. 30. That dispute centered on YouTube’s plan to group the Univision channels with other Spanish-language programming on a separate tier rather than offer the channels as part of YouTube’s basic packages.

Univision cried foul, in large part, because the switch would mean less revenue because programmers are paid rates based on the number of households that receive their channels. Fewer consumers pay for the Spanish-language add-on.

YouTube countered that Spanish-language viewers were watching Univision on the main YouTube free video site — and that service has remained available.

Channel 4’s new drama Trespasses aired its first episode on Sunday night

Channel 4 viewers have voiced their frustrations over Gillian Anderson’s new series, Trespasses.

While some fans were enamoured with the fresh drama, others were less than impressed by what they deemed to be “dodgy” Irish accents.

Taking to social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, one disgruntled viewer wrote, “At times, I can’t understand a word people are saying …. It’s not just the accents, it’s the dodgy sound quality too #trespasses.”

Another chimed in, “Think I need subtitles on. #Trespasses.”

A third quipped, “#trespasses channel four….. I see what you did there! Getting down n dirty to Into the mystic by Van the man!!! Giving you points for this x, but some of the accents are again shocking!” (sic), reports the Express.

One surprised fan tweeted, “Crikey! I’ve only just recognised Gillian Anderson in #Trespasses. Her # Belfast accent sounds authentic. Struggling to understand when actors speak too rapidly.”

Another queried, “Is it common to say ‘I’m going to the bathroom’ in Northern Ireland? I always assumed that was purely an American phrase.”

Expressing anticipation for the series, one viewer penned, “Looking forward to watching the TV adaptation of #Trespasses on C4. Enjoyed the book when I read it this summer. Lola Petticrew was incredible in Say Nothing, so I have high hopes!”.

Another enthused, “God, it’s fantastic. I’m so glad that it lives and breathes like the book.”

The plot of Trespasses unfolds in a town outside Belfast in the 1970s.

The four-part drama is based on Louise Kennedy’s acclaimed first novel and features Lola Petticrew, Tom Cullen, and Gillian Anderson. The story centres on a forbidden romance during the Troubles.

The synopsis reads, “Working behind the bar of her family pub, serving a mixed crowd including locally stationed soldiers, Catholic schoolteacher Cushla meets Michael, an older Protestant married man, who often defends IRA suspects and is friends with cultured Bohemians who enrage and intrigue her.

“Worlds apart, Cushla knows a relationship like this spells all kinds of trouble, but they are irresistibly drawn to each other.

“In a place where loose lips cost lives and danger lurks in the shadows, amid the fear and paranoia, this illicit affair between the pair ignites and burns bright.”

Trespasses can be streamed on All4.

Politics in the year after a presidential election are typically focused on local and statewide contests.

But the races decided on Tuesday — which include a pivotal mayoral contest in New York and California’s referendum on congressional redistricting — will have national implications. The gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey will be a report card on President Trump’s second term.

As a result, cable news will be paying special attention. The races will also serve as an important test run for a couple of cable news networks in transition.

“This is the first election of the 2026 midterms, and we know what happens 30 seconds after the mid-terms are over — 2028 starts in earnest,” said Chris Stirewalt, political editor for Nexstar Media Group’s NewsNation. “In New Jersey and Virginia, you have two states that look a lot like the country as a whole. President Trump’s approval ratings in those places is about the same as it is nationally.”

MSNBC will be covering its first election night without the resources of NBC News. The progressive-leaning network — which changes its name to MS NOW on Nov. 15 — is being spun off by parent company Comcast into a new entity called Versant.

NBC News no longer shares correspondents or analysts with MSNBC. The channel’s line-up of opinion hosts including Rachel Maddow, Joe Scarborough, Nicolle Wallace, Ari Melber and Lawrence O’Donnell remains intact.

Loyal MSNBC viewers will notice that election data maven Steve Kornacki will not be crunching numbers on his big board. Kornacki signed a new deal last year with NBC, where he works for the news and sports divisions.

Kornacki will be a part of the network’s coverage on NBC News Now, its free streaming channel. “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas is leading the coverage with Hallie Jackson, the network’s senior Washington correspondent; and “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker.

MSNBC host Ali Velshi will take on the voter analysis duties previously held down by Kornacki. The network said it will have 15 correspondents reporting throughout the country, including West Coast-based Jacob Soboroff delivering analysis on TikTok.

MSNBC national correspondent Jacob Soboroff.

(MSNBC/Paul Morigi/MSNBC)

CNN will use the night to test the appeal of its new direct-to-consumer streaming service launched last week.

While CNN will have its usual array of anchors and experts led by anchor Jake Tapper, Anderson Cooper and Erin Burnett, the network will also offer an alternative streaming feed featuring its analyst Harry Enten alongside conservative commentator Ben Shapiro and “The Breakfast Club” radio host Charlamagne tha God.

“CNN Election Livecast” will be only be available from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Pacific to subscribers of CNN All Access. The program will be a discussion of the results presented as “a more casual option” for viewers, according to a representative for the network.

The feed will mark the first time CNN, owned by Warner Bros. Discover, has produced full-scale live coverage exclusively for a streaming audience.

Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier of Fox News

(Fox News)

Fox News will rely on anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum for a special telecast at 10 p.m. Eastern and 7 p.m. Pacific, pre-empting its comedic talk show “Gutfeld!”

The 2025 election night will also mark a change in calling the results. All of the major broadcast networks and cable channels will be using data analysis from the Associated Press, which teamed with Fox News and NORC at the University of Chicago several years ago to create an alternative to the research company used by CBS, NBC, ABC and CNN.

Starting Tuesday, all five networks will get voting results at the same time.

Leland Vittert, Elizabeth Vargas and Chris Cuomo will anchor election night coverage for NewsNation.

(NewsNation)

The exception is Nexstar Media Group’s NewsNation, which will use Decision Desk HQ to call its races during its coverage co-anchored by Stirewalt, Chris Cuomo, Leland Vittert and Elizabeth Vargas. The service was the first to call the results of the 2024 presidential election, beating the competition by 15 minutes.

The ability to call the races sooner means more time for analysis, which is expected to lean heavily into what the results say about the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential campaign.

Stirewalt said the night has the potential to set up the political plot lines of the next two years. He believes the passage of Proposition 50 in California and a victory for New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani would elevate Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as 2028 presidential contenders.

“That’s would be a big feather in the cap for AOC, who can say that she’s leading a movement,” Stirewalt said. “Gavin Newsom gets to ring the bell. He gets to say ‘I won. I did something that was controversial. I took it to Donald Trump. I’m delivering a win.’”

Channel 4 is reportedly gearing up to axe The Inheritance, which was fronted by Liz Hurley and Rob Rinder and saw 13 players attempt to win money from a will, after just one series

Elizabeth Hurley‘s reality show could be about to be axed after just one series. The Hollywood star, 60, teamed up with Good Morning Britain presenter Rob Rinder to front the game show, which aired on Channel 4 earlier this year.

The Bedazzled actress played the The Deceased, with Rob working as The Executor, and 13 contestants battled it out in a series of challenges to unlock money from the will as they try to convince each other that only they should be trusted with the money pot. Whilst no official decision has bene made on the programme’s future, insiders have claimed that it is not expected to come back for a second run of episodes.

A source told The Sun: “The Inheritance has been widely viewed as a flop, despite all the publicity and having a big star at its heart.

READ MORE: Lorraine Kelly takes bitter swipe at Liz Hurley following her jaw-dropping NTAs outfitREAD MORE: The Inheritance winner revealed in nail-biting Channel 4 final twist

“Channel 4 maintains no decision has been made on its future, but many people involved in the debut series are working on the basis that it isn’t returning. Of course there may be some huge changes of mind and the show enjoys a stay of execution, but all the signs are that this is another expensive flop and they’re likely to quit while they’re behind.”

The Mirror has contacted Channel 4 representatives for comment.

The first episode of The Inheritance pulled in just half a million viewers, although this grew once catch up figures were taken into account. However, over the course of two weeks, overall, the programme averaged just 1.5 million. In the end, it was 28-year-old Yorkshire scaffolder Cam who emerged victorious, winning the vote amongst his fellow finalists to be the ultimate Prime Beneficiary, receiving a whopping £100,000 fortune from The Deceased’s estate.

Cam then had the option of keeping the prize money to himself, which would add to the already huge £10,000 he had accumulated throughout the game. However, in a nail biting final decision, he chose to share his winnings with Emma, Hafsah, Hannah and Jesse, who each took home £20,000 each, along with what they had already banked throughout.

In total, Cam walked away with £30,000 with the rest of the finalists trailing closely behind. Hannah and Jesse received £28,200 each Hafsah taking home £27,700 and paramedic Emma walking away with a modest £23,800.

During the tense moment, host Rob Rinder was seen standing with the finalists during the tense moment, as he revealed that Cam had chosen to split the money with all four players. “You arrived at the final at the final stages of this game together, and you now leave with an equal slice of the inheritance,” Rob announced, as the contestants broke down in tears.

“You arrived at the final at the final stages of this game together, and you now leave with an equal slice of the inheritance,” Rob announced, as the contestants broke down in tears.

“The inheritance is now concluded, please collect your money from the safe boxes and leave the estate immediately,” he concluded.

While the players were left shocked at Cam’s generous decision, it was a no brainer for him, as he announced: “I’ve had debt hanging over my head for years, I can’t describe the feeling of a fresh start.

“My dad taught me integrity and in that strong room it is literally a battle between your head and your heart. To be able to change the lives of four other people too, I am so happy and proud.” Of course, he’s only human, and he did have second thoughts when the money was right in front of his eyes.

“We all spoke about it in the final division ceremony, dividing all the money up, and I think it’s easy to say you would,” he said. “However, when you get down into that room, and you’ve got a hundred thousand pounds in front of your face, you start thinking about everything back at home and how much it could change your life.

“It really is a tough decision but at the end of the day I’m a team player, and I’m just so happy that I did make the decision I made.”

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Millions of YouTube TV subscribers could miss “Monday Night Football” on ESPN and ABC News’ election day coverage as the blackout of Walt Disney-owned channels stretches into a second week.

“Monday Night Football” features the Dallas Cowboys battling the Arizona Cardinals. In addition, several important political contests are on Tuesday ballots, including the New York City mayor’s election, gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, and California’s Prop. 50 to decide whether officials can redraw the state’s congressional map to favor Democrats.

Disney on Monday sought a temporary thaw in tensions with Google Inc. after the two sides failed last week to strike a new distribution contract covering Disney’s television channels on Google’s YouTube TV.

“Despite the impasse that led to the current blackout, we have asked YouTube TV to restore ABC for Election Day so subscribers have access to the information they rely on,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement Monday. “We believe in putting the public interest first and hope YouTube TV will take this small step for their customers while we continue to work toward a fair agreement.”

A Google spokesperson was not immediately available for a comment.

ABC’s “World News Tonight With David Muir” is one of television’s highest rated programs.

More than 10 million YouTube TV customers lost access to ESPN, ABC and other Disney channels late Thursday after a collapse in negotiations over distribution fees for Disney channels, causing one of the largest recent blackouts in the television industry.

The two TV giants wrangled for weeks over how much Google must pay to carry Disney’s channels, including FX, Disney Jr. and National Geographic. YouTube TV — now one of the largest pay-TV services in the U.S. — has balked at Disney’s price demands, leading to the outage.

YouTube TV does not have the legal right to distribute Disney’s networks after its last distribution agreement expired.

“We know this is a frustrating and disappointing outcome for our subscribers,” a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement last week. “We continue to urge Disney to work with us constructively to reach a fair agreement that restores their networks to YouTube TV.”

YouTube has said that should the outage stretch for “an extended period,” it would offer its subscribers a $20 credit.

Spanish-language TelevisaUnivision-owned channels were knocked off YouTube TV in a separate dispute that has lasted more than a month. Televisa has appealed to high-level political officials, including President Trump and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr.

Last year, after Disney-owned channels went dark on DirecTV in a separate carriage fee dispute, Disney offered to make available to DirecTV subscribers its ABC coverage of the sole presidential debate between President Trump and then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

DirecTV viewed ABC’s offer as something of a stunt, noting the debate would be streamed. DirecTV countered by asking Disney to instead make all of its channels available.

That fee dispute resulted in a 13-day blackout on DirecTV, one that was resolved a few days later.

Heightened tensions in the television industry have led to numerous blackouts.

In 2023, Disney and Charter Communications were unable to iron out a new contract by their deadline, resulting in a 10-day blackout of Disney channels on Charter’s Spectrum service. A decade earlier, Time Warner Cable subscribers went nearly a month without CBS-owned channels.

Programming companies, including Disney, have asked for higher fees for their channels to help offset the increased cost of sports programming, including NFL and NBA contracts. But pay-TV providers, including YouTube have pushed back, attempting to draw a line to slow their customers’ ever-increasing monthly bills.

More than 40 million pay-TV customer homes have cut the cord over the last decade, according to industry data. Many have switched to smaller streaming packages. YouTube TV also benefited by attracting disaffected customers from DirecTV, Charter Spectrum and Comcast. YouTube TV is now the nation’s third-largest TV channel distributor.