Disney

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.

Lukewarm performances at the box office from the likes of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” “The Roses” and “Freakier Friday” dented Walt Disney Co.’s entertainment business for its fiscal fourth quarter, the company reported Thursday.

The Burbank media and entertainment company reported $10.2 billion in revenue for its entertainment segment for the three-month period that ended Sept. 27, down 6% compared with the same quarter a year earlier. Entertainment operating income for the fourth quarter totaled $691 million, down 35% compared with last year.

The softer box office showing during the fourth quarter was being compared with the strong performance of the irreverent superhero flick “Deadpool & Wolverine” in the year-earlier period, as well as the tail end of the theatrical window for the animated juggernaut “Inside Out 2,” each of which would go on to gross more than $1 billion globally.

For the full year, however, Disney’s entertainment segment — which includes movies, TV, Disney+ and Hulu — posted revenue of $42.5 billion, up 3% compared with fiscal year 2024. Operating income totaled $4.7 billion, an increase of 19%.

Though the company saw a 16% decline in revenue for its linear networks in the fourth quarter due to lower ad dollars and viewership, Disney did see an increase for its streaming services. The company reported fourth-quarter streaming revenue of $6.2 billion, an 8% jump compared with the previous year, and operating income of $352 million, up 39%.

“This was another year of great progress as we strengthened the company by leveraging the value of our creative and brand assets and continued to make meaningful progress in our direct-to-consumer businesses,” Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said in a statement. “I’m pleased with our many achievements this fiscal year to position Disney for the future.”

Disney’s fourth-quarter revenue totaled $22.5 billion, about flat compared with the previous year. That put the company’s year-end revenue at $94.4 billion, up 3%.

Earnings, excluding certain items, for the fourth quarter totaled 73 cents per share, up from 25 cents a year earlier. For the full year, earnings per share was $6.85, up from $2.72. The company’s income before taxes in the fourth quarter was $2 billion, up from $948 million last year; for the full year, it was up 59% to $12 billion.

Disney’s experiences segment, which includes its theme parks, cruise line and Aulani resort and spa in Hawaii, was a bright spot for the fourth quarter. The company reported revenue of $8.8 billion, an increase of 6% from the previous year’s fourth quarter, with operating income rising 13% to $1.9 billion.

Operating income for domestic parks and experiences for the quarter was up 9% to $920 million, which Disney attributed to growth at its cruise line. Disney also got a boost from its international parks and experiences segment, largely due to an increase in attendance and spending at its Disneyland Paris resort.

For the full fiscal year, Disney’s experiences business reported revenue of $36.2 billion, a 6% bump, with operating income increasing 8% to nearly $10 billion.

Disney’s sports business, which includes ESPN, reported quarterly revenue of nearly $4 billion, up 2%, with operating income decreasing 2% to $911 million. The company said the decline in operating income was due to higher marketing costs associated with the August launch of the new ESPN direct-to-consumer service and increases in programming and production costs.

The sports business closed out the year with revenue of $17.6 billion, roughly flat compared with the previous fiscal year, and a 20% jump in operating income to $2.9 billion.

STEPPING into the impressive atrium of Disney’s newest cruise ship, it has all the magic you would expect from the fairytale brand – and some exciting world-first additions.

Stepping onto Disney Destiny, I’m dazzled by how striking and glossy the three story high atrium is, with its enormous meteorite chandelier towering above the winding staircase. 

Suddenly, in a flash of light the whole room glows in vivid green and a mysterious character appears on the balcony. 

It’s Loki, star of Marvel’s Avengers, and villainous resident on this new ship – where all is not what it seems… 

Disney Destiny is the seventh ship from the Disney Cruise Line, setting sail on November 20, 2025 from Port Everglades in Florida. 

I watched the dramatic Christening ceremony, complete with incredible drone show above the ship and state-of-the-art projections illuminated onto the side of the vessel. 

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Sister ship to the Disney Wish and Disney Treasure, the Destiny is doing things a little bit differently.

While you’ll still find Disney Princesses and classic characters like Mickey and Minnie on board, this voyage celebrates Disney’s darker side, with some rather mischievous Disney villains on board too.

The theme of the ship is the brilliantly modern, Heroes and Villains.

Look closely and you’ll see Spiderman on the Stern, quite the sight when sailing the Caribbean. 

Inside, the Evil Queen scowls at children who scream and giggle at her in return. 

It’s a new era for Disney Cruise Line, stepping away from the classic Disney themes and dazzling guests with a thrilling new energy, drawing inspiration from its live action films, such as Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In fact, the dazzling chandelier in the main hall, now glowing bright green, is a nod to the meteorite that brought vibranium to Wakanda.

But, Disney ‘baddies’ were around long before Marvel weaved its magic with Spidey and friends.

The Destiny honours some fan favourites on board, with bars and shops inspired by villains such as Cruella De Vil and Maleficent.  

There is also a bar themed on a popular Walt Disney World attraction – the Haunted Mansion – complete with ghostly goings on, a spooky fish tank and those famous hitchhiking ghosts. 

However, with 1,256 luxury staterooms, Disney still want you to sleep at night. 

Guests are given a personalised heroes’ welcome as they step on, with each family welcomed in by name.

And Disney’s good guys, including characters from Hercules, Mulan, Brave and The Incredibles feature prominently in the room designs and in public areas. 

Meg from Hercules has her own coffee lounge and the Sanctum Bar is Dr Strange inspired, serving curious cocktails that spin and fizz.  

As well as the classic staterooms, the ship has IncrediSuites – designed in the style of The Incredibles and Hero Suites – themed on Hercules. 

The show-stopping Tower Suite, uniquely featured in the ship’s funnel, is a sensational take on Iron Man’s HQ – however, at a rumoured £100k per cruise, a heroic salary is required to get a look in there. 

Us mere mortals are left with the ship’s main decks, which really do offer so much for all ages. 

There are two Broadway-style shows on board, and the Disney Hercules show is a real knockout.

Disney’s high quality entertainment is expected, but this really does blow you away.

Disney Destiny also has immersive dining restaurants based on the Marvel franchise and The Lion King, featuring interactive elements and live performances.

These restaurants are fully inclusive with your cruise package, but alcohol costs extra. 

As well as the main restaurants, there are two buffet restaurant areas Marceline Market and Mickey’s Festival of Foods, which between them are open all day. 

Plus, adults travelling without kids, or parents utilising the hugely popular Disney Oceaneers Club (kids club), can enjoy an adult-exclusive area with a bar, pool and hot tubs.

There is also stylish restaurant Palo, an elegant 21+ dining room that is found on every Disney cruise ship. 

Families playing together can cool off in six swimming pools or splash down the on-board water slide, the AquaMouse.

Disney’s unique water slide winds around the ship and has visuals inside the tube – this time with a few villainous cameos too. 

Disney Destiny will be sailing on four and five-night cruises to The Bahamas and Western Caribbean, including visits to one or both of Disney Cruise Line’s island destinations, Disney Castaway Cay and Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point.

Soaking up the sun on Disney’s private beach, with a cold cocktail in hand certainly feels like a champion move.

Although, it always feels mischievous when there is so much to do on board the impressive ship, currently stood glistening in the sun. 

It’s fair to say there so much on offer during a Disney cruise, you may need your own superhero powers to see and do everything.

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This week, Lionsgate is betting that the odds will be in their favor when “The Hunger Games: On Stage” opens at London’s Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre.

The play, which is based on the young adult novel by Suzanne Collins and 2012 film that catapulted actor Jennifer Lawrence into the mainstream, is just the latest film-to-stage adaptation from Hollywood.

This isn’t a new playbook. After all, Disney revolutionized the space by adapting its animated films like “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin” into Broadway musical hits. But it is one that studios are turning to again, particularly as they look to connect more deeply with audiences and expand the fan base of their franchises.

Last year, Universal Theatrical Group debuted a musical stage adaptation of the 1992 film “Death Becomes Her” on Broadway.

In addition to “The Hunger Games,” Lionsgate has several other theatrical shows in the works, including a stage adaptation of the 2017 film “Wonder” opening in Boston in December, as well as “Now You See Me Live” opening that same month at the Sydney Opera House.

Next year, there will be a stage version of “La La Land,” as well as a new production of the iconic classic “Dirty Dancing.” (Of course, the opposite is also happening, with “Wicked” as the most recent example of a book-to-stage-to-film pipeline.)

“When you look at the way that fans are engaging with entertainment, there are so many different mediums that are important now, and experiential is a big one,” Jenefer Brown, Lionsgate’s president of global products and experiences, said an interview. “With all of us spending so much time online and in digital mediums, the idea of that shared live experience in a theater is something that’s highly appealing.”

But getting “The Hunger Games” to the stage wasn’t easy — the process took almost seven years from the inception of the idea to first previews. As part of the show’s development, the producers also built a custom theater in London. Brown spoke with The Times about why the dystopian franchise was a good candidate for live theater and why communal experiences are so important.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

What made “The Hunger Games” ripe for the stage?

It’s an enduring story that has so much relevance to occurrences that happen in the world today. I think that there’s just a ton of cultural significance.

And what we know about “The Hunger Games” is that there’s always a new wave of fans that discover it. Now we’re seeing Gen Alpha reading the books and watching the movies, and of course, we have Gen Z fans and millennial fans, and parents from other generations who have been on the journey with their children. It’s a way to bring aspects of the book to life, maybe in a different interpretation, or to let fans be able to explore certain things in a greater depth than we were able to do on a movie screen.

What does a stage play do for audiences that, say, a series or ride does not?

When you’re seeing something live, we don’t have the tricks that we have behind a camera in a movie.

You have to really find ways to bring the audience on a journey, and you can’t hide anything. That’s part of the magic of the experience, and for fans to be there and be mesmerized by some of the things that we’re executing in real time on a stage with special effects and illusions and real people doing the stunt choreography and the stunt work right in front of you, I think that there’s a lot of value in that type of experience.

Does this allow you to reach different audiences than those who already saw the films?

Obviously, a lot of fans are interested, but I think theatergoers in general, who maybe haven’t been as exposed to “The Hunger Games” or aren’t super fans, are going to be interested from the theater side of it. There’s been a lot of buzz and excitement in London, in the theater world, knowing that we had a new theater being built.

In general, lots of of people want to engage with experiences. We’re seeing just a huge sort of upward trend in interest, particularly amongst Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences. Someone who maybe has read the books but hasn’t seen the movie yet will come see the stage show and then watch the movie. And I think this idea of all of it feeding each other, depending on which entry point you choose, is a really interesting thing for us as a studio to think about.

Did the pandemic turbocharge interest in live entertainment?

It’s an interest in live stage and live entertainment, and the idea of getting out again, supporting the arts and supporting shared experiences. We’ve definitely seen, thankfully, a recovery and an upswing in that area.

How big of a business is the stage aspect of Lionsgate global products and experiences?

We have three shows opening before the end of this year, and about that number slated for next year. So it really is a very busy and active space for us, and I think more in the pipeline. We probably are spending about a third of our time in this space, and I don’t see that changing.

Stuff We Wrote

Film shoots

Number of the week

$80 million

After a sleepy October, Walt Disney Co. and 20th Century Studios’ “Predator: Badlands” conquered the box office this past weekend, grossing $40 million in the U.S. and Canada for a total of nearly $80 million worldwide.

The haul is the highest global opening for any film in “Predator” franchise history, surpassing 2018’s “The Predator,” which notched $73.5 million.

The strong start for the Elle Fanning-led “Predator: Badlands” provides a hopeful start for November’s theatrical fortunes. So far this year, domestic box office revenue is about $7.2 billion, up 3.1% compared with the previous year, according to Comscore. But when compared with pre-pandemic 2019, that number is still down 24.7%.

Finally …

My colleague, Malia Mendez, wrote about a TV writer who found a second career in ceramics after the slowdown in Hollywood left him out of work. His most popular workshop — Tattoo a Mug.

YouTube TV customers are bracing for another frustrating weekend.

For the last week, YouTube TV’s 10 million subscribers have been denied access to ESPN, ABC and other Walt Disney Co. channels in a dispute that has swelled into one of the largest TV blackouts in a decade. Instead of turning on “College GameDay,” “Monday Night Football” or “Dancing With the Stars,” customers have been greeted with a grim message: “Disney channels are unavailable.”

The standoff began Oct. 30 when the two behemoths hit an impasse in their negotiations over a new distribution contract covering Disney’s channels and ABC stations.

Google, which owns YouTube, has rebuffed Disney’s demands for fee increases for ESPN, ABC and other channels. The Burbank entertainment giant has been seeking a revenue boost to support its content production and streaming ambitions, and help pay for ESPN’s gargantuan sports rights deals.

Talks are ongoing, but the two sides remain apart on major issues — prolonging the stalemate.

“Everyone is kind of sick of these big-time companies trying to get the best of one another,” said Nick Newton, 30, who lives near San Francisco and subscribes to YouTube TV. “The people who are suffering are the middle-class and lower-class people that just love sports … because it’s our escape from the real world.”

Both companies declined to comment for this article.

The skirmish is just the latest between YouTube and programming companies. Since August, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp., Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Spanish-language broadcaster TelevisaUnivision have all complained that YouTube TV was trying to use its market muscle to squeeze them for concessions.

Here’s a look at what’s driving the escalating tensions:

Google’s growing clout in television

The struggle between Disney and YouTube reflects television’s fast-shifting dynamics.

Disney has long entered carriage negotiations with tremendous leverage, in large part because it owns ESPN, which is a must-have channel for legions of sports fans.

Programmers, including Disney, structured their distribution contracts to expire near a pivotal programming event, such as a new season of NFL football. The timing motivated both sides to quickly reach a deal rather than risk alienating customers.

But for Google’s parent, Alphabet, YouTube TV is just a sliver of their business. The tech company generated $350 billion in revenue last year, the vast majority coming from Google search and advertising. That gives YouTube a longer leash to hold out for contract terms it finds acceptable.

“This dispute is not that painful for Google,” said analyst Richard Greenfield of LightShed Partners, noting that YouTube TV could probably withstand “two weekends without college football, and two weeks without ‘Monday Night Football’ — as long as their consumers stay with them.”

Disney, however, depends on TV advertising and pay-TV distribution fees. The week-long blackout has already dampened TV ratings, which means less revenue for the company.

Consumers like YouTube TV

For decades, throngs of consumers loathed their cable company — a sentiment that Disney and other programmers were able to use in their favor in past battles. Customer defections prompted several pay-TV companies to find a compromise to restore the darkened TV channels and stanch the subscriber bleeding.

But YouTube is banking on a more loyal user base, including millions of customers who switched to the service from higher-priced legacy providers.

“I’ll stick this thing out with YouTube TV,” Newton said, adding that he hoped the dispute didn’t drag on for weeks.

“This is one of the problems facing Disney,” Greenfield said. “It’s been a noticeable change in tone from past carriage fee battles. If customer losses stay at a minimum, then Disney is going to be in a tough place.”

It boils down to power and money

YouTube TV is the fastest-growing television service in the U.S. Analysts expect that, within a couple of years, YouTube TV will have more pay-TV customers than industry leaders Spectrum and Comcast.

In the current negotiations, Google has asked Disney to agree to lower its rates when YouTube TV surpasses Comcast’s and Spectrum’s subscriber counts. Disney maintains that YouTube already pays preferred rates, in recognition of its competitive standing, and that Google is trying to drive down the value of Disney’s networks.

“YouTube TV and its owner, Google … want to use their power and extraordinary resources to eliminate competition and devalue the very content that helped them build their service,” top Disney executives wrote last Friday in an email to their staff.

People close to YouTube TV reject the characterization, saying the service has been a valuable partner by providing a strong service that brings Disney billions of dollars a year in distribution revenue.

“The bottom line is that our channels are extremely valuable, and we can only continue to program them with the sports and entertainment viewers love most if we stand our ground,” the Disney executives wrote in last week’s email. “We are asking nothing more of YouTube TV than what we have gotten from every other distributor — fair rates for our channels.”

Higher sports rights fees

A major reason Disney is asking for higher fees is because it’s grappling with a huge escalation in sports costs.

Disney is on the hook to pay $2.6 billion a year to the NBA, another $2.7 billion annually to the NFL, and $325 million a year for the rights to stream World Wrestling Entertainment. Such sports rights contracts have nearly doubled in the last decade, leading to the strain on TV broadcasters.

In addition, deep-pocketed streaming services, including Amazon, Apple and Netflix, have jumped into sports broadcasting, driving up the cost for the legacy broadcasters.

The crowded field also strains the wallets of sports fans, and appears to be adding to the fatigue over the YouTube TV-Disney fight.

Newton wrote in a recent Twitter post that he was spending $400 a month for his various internet, phone and TV services, including Disney+ and NFL Sunday Ticket, which is distributed by YouTube TV.

“I’m already on all the major subscriptions to watch football these days,” Newton, a third-generation San Francisco 49ers fan, said. “You need Netflix. You need Peacock, you need Amazon Prime and the list goes on and on. I’m at the point where I’m not paying for anything else.”

The cuts in Hollywood just keep coming, following a sadly familiar script.

Last week it was Paramount, which laid off about 1,000 workers in the first wave of a deep staff reduction planned since tech scion David Ellison’s Skydance Media took over the storied media and entertainment company.

The cuts affected a wide swath of the company, from CBS and CBS News to Comedy Central, MTV and the historic Melrose Avenue film studio, my colleague Meg James and I reported. Another 1,000 layoffs are expected in the coming weeks.

But Paramount isn’t the only one in the media business that’s shedding jobs and payrolls.

Earlier, cable giant Charter Communications said it would lay off 1,200 people nationwide, as the company faces increased competition for its broadband internet packages. NBC News, too, laid off 150 employees last month amid declining TV ratings and lessening ad revenue.

Other recent media-adjacent layoffs included 100 cuts to Disneyland Resort’s Anaheim-based workforce and the massive 14,000 worker reduction at Amazon, including at the company’s gaming and film and TV studios.

And that doesn’t even include widespread job losses that happened earlier this year at companies such as Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal and Six Flags Entertainment Corp.

It all adds up to a grim picture for Hollywood’s workers, who have faced a near endless marathon of economic hurdles for the last five years.

First it was the pandemic, followed by the dual writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023, cutbacks in spending after studios splurged on streaming productions, and the outflow of production to the U.K. and other countries with lower costs than California.

Then, in January, nature struck a blow, with the fires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades destroying many industry workers’ homes.

Topping it off, Saturday marked the first day that millions of low-income Americans lost federal food assistance due to the government shutdown that began Oct. 1. That has affected some 5.5 million Californians and probably some who work in the entertainment industry.

“It’s been one crisis after another, without enough time in between,” said Keith McNutt, western regional executive director of the Entertainment Community Fund, which provides social services for arts and entertainment professionals. “People are concerned and very worried and really trying very hard to figure out where they go from here.”

McNutt reports that the nonprofit group has already heard from some people who were recently laid off, and has experienced a sharp increase in demand for its services, particularly from those in the film and TV industry. The fund offers healthcare and financial counseling and operates a career center. It also provides emergency grants for those who qualify.

Clients include not only low-income people who are always hit hardest in downturns, but also veteran entertainment industry professionals who’ve worked in the business for 20 to 30 years.

Those who were lucky enough to have savings saw those wiped out by the pandemic, and then were unable to replenish their rainy-day funds after the strikes and industry contraction, said David Rambo, chair of the fund’s western council.

“It has been snowballing very slowly for about five years,” Rambo said.

Many in the industry are hopeful that California’s newly expanded film and television tax credit program will bring some production — and jobs — back to the Golden State. That’s what backers campaigned on when they lobbied Sacramento legislators to bolster the program. Dozens of TV shows and films have received credits so far under the revamped program, but it’ll take some time to see the results in filming data and employment numbers.

And that doesn’t help the workers who were just laid off last month. For those folks, McNutt suggests calling the fund’s health insurance team to make sure they understand their options and also to spend some time with career counselors to understand how Hollywood skills can be transferable to other employers, whether that’s on a short- or long-term basis. Most importantly, don’t isolate yourself.

“You’re not alone,” he said. “Nobody’s alone in this situation that the industry is finding itself in right now, and so reach out to your friends, reach out to your colleagues. If you’re not comfortable with that, reach out to the Entertainment Community Fund.”

Stuff We Wrote

Film shoots

Number of the week

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ wild 11-inning win on Saturday over the Toronto Blue Jays notched nearly 26 million viewers, making it the most-watched World Series game since 2017, according to Nielsen data.

The 2017 Game 7 win by the Houston Astros over the Dodgers had an audience of 28.3 million.

The Dodgers are now the first Major League Baseball team to win back-to-back championships in 25 years. On Monday, thousands of Dodgers faithful turned out for the team’s victory parade through downtown L.A.

Finally …

You’ve no doubt heard of L.A.’s famous star tours. But what about a tour of a historic cemetery?

My colleague, Cerys Davies, wrote about local historian and guide Shmuel Gonzales — or as he calls himself, “Barrio Boychik” — and his walking tour of Boyle Heights’ Evergreen Cemetery.

The cemetery is the final resting place for many of L.A.’s early movers and shakers, including the Lankershims and the Hollenbecks, and it’s also a prime example of L.A.’s multicultural history.

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.

Last week, HBO Max announced it raised its standard subscription by $1.50 to $18.49 a month — up 23% from when the streaming service launched five years ago amid the pandemic.

Such announcements have become almost routine in the television business as inflation hits streaming platforms that are under growing pressure to turn a profit and pay for higher programming costs.

Once seen as a cheaper alternative to cable, the cost of a streaming subscription for the top platforms continues to rise, much like higher prices for groceries, gasoline and housing.

In fact, the average price for subscriptions to the top 10 paid subscription streaming services in the U.S. increased 12% this year, following double-digit percentage increases per year since 2022, according to Victoria, British Columbia-based Convergence Research Group.

The research firm included streamers such as Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Peacock, Apple TV and others in its data set. It factors subscriptions that are with ads or ad-free and does not take into account bundling. All of the major streaming services in the U.S. raised their prices on plans this year, except for Paramount+ and Amazon Prime Video, which boosted rates last year.

The price hikes reflect the tough economic realities of media companies that need to replace dwindling revenue from legacy pay TV channels that have seen sharp declines in viewership.

“The rest of their businesses have effectively been under attack by streaming and so they need this area to be profitable in order to compensate for the decline in their own businesses,” said Brahm Eiley, president of the Convergence Research Group. “It’s been tremendous pressure on them.”

Streaming services have been running as loss leaders for some time, said Tim Hanlon, chief executive of Vertere Group LLC, a media consulting firm.

“There’s no question that streaming is now under the gun to be its own profit center,” Hanlon said.

If rates go much higher, consumers may balk, experts said.

“The industry is playing a dangerous game by continuing to raise prices,” said Andrew Hare, senior vice president for the media research consultancy Magid. “We’re nearing a boiling point of rising churn and overwhelming choice.”

Magid has also already seen an uptick in the percentage of consumers who intend to cancel at least one streaming service in the next six months. The figure was 24% in the second quarter of 2025, up from 19% a year earlier.

“Hard as it is to imagine, the cable bundle is starting to look like a better value all the time,” Hare said.

Here is a look at which major streamers have raised prices on their ad-free streaming plans this year.

HBO Max

HBO Max raised prices across all of its plans. Its lowest-cost, ad-free streaming plan went up by $1.50 to $18.49 a month, while the annual version of that plan also increased $15 to $184.99.

HBO Max’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, had 125.7 million global streaming subscribers in the second quarter, up 22% from a year earlier.

Like other streamers, HBO cited the need to help pay for quality content. The platform offers big-budget shows including drama “The Gilded Age” and “House of the Dragon,” which takes place in the “Game of Thrones” universe.

Consumers should brace themselves for more price hikes. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said at a Goldman Sachs investors conference last month that he believes HBO Max is underpriced.

“We want a good deal for consumers, but I think over time there’s real opportunity, particularly for us in that quality area to raise prices,” Zaslav said.

Peacock

Big-time sports properties have been moving to streaming platforms and guess who is going to help foot the bill? Consumers, of course.

Ahead of becoming a major provider of NBA games this season, Peacock increased prices on its plans, including the premium plus ad-free streaming service, by $3 to $16.99 a month. That was the third price hike since Peacock launched in 2020, where its ad-free plan started at $9.99 a month.

The Comcast-owned streamer, which has 41 million paid subscribers, has weekly games on Mondays and Tuesdays and will have a Peacock exclusive NFL game on Dec. 27. Peacock next year will air the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics and continue to stream major sporting events such as NFL games.

In a July earnings call, Comcast Corp. President Mike Cavanagh touted how Peacock will have the most hours of live sports of any streamer next year.

Netflix

Netflix has also gotten into the sports business, with the addition of two NFL games on Christmas Day.

The streamer, which remains the industry juggernaut, is also expected to add Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby and an opening night game when MLB finalizes a new media rights deal this year.

The company cited its entry into high-priced sports when it raised its prices on most of its plans, including on its cheapest ad-free monthly plan by $2.50 to $17.99 in the U.S. earlier this year.

“As we continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members, we will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix,” Netflix said in a letter to shareholders in January.

The slice of sports is coming at the expense of fans who need multiple subscriptions — if they want to keep up with every NFL game.

“A certain type of fan is starting to recognize they are being fleeced,” Hanlon said.

Higher prices on ad-free plans can help drive traffic to a streamer’s lowest-priced plans with ads. Netflix launched its subscription plan with ads in 2022 at $6.99 a month and it has only increased by a $1 to $7.99 a month since then in January 2025.

While many major streamers offer cheaper plans with ads, others offer free streaming services with ads such as the Roku Channel or Tubi.

A recent research study by Magid found that three-quarters of consumers are fine with watching commercials, if it saves them money.

Four in 10 said they’re “overwhelmed” by the number of services they use. The average number of streaming subscriptions per household in the third quarter is 4.6, up from 4.1 the previous year.

“Together, these trends point to a more value-driven streaming consumer seeking affordability and simplicity,” the study said.

Apple TV

Apple TV was once one of the lowest-priced subscription service plans, launching at $4.99 a month. Since then, prices for Apple’s video streaming service have increased to $12.99 a month, with its latest price jump of $3 in August.

The Cupertino-based company has been trying to make its streaming business more financially sound, but faces a formidable task as it has been a big spender in attracting name talent to its programs and movies.

When Apple TV first launched, it had just nine programs, but since then has expanded its library to include critically acclaimed shows and films including comedy “Ted Lasso,” drama “Severance” and “The Studio.”

Apple said in a statement that while it did raise its prices on its standard monthly ad-free plan, the cost of its annual subscription remains at $99 and Apple One bundled packages did not change.

Disney+

Last month, Disney+ announced it would increase the cost of its ad-free streaming plan by $3 to $18.99 a month. Hulu did not increase its price on its ad-free monthly streaming plan.

It was the fourth consecutive year the Burbank entertainment giant has boosted its streaming prices since launching Disney+ six years ago, when the service cost just $6.99 a month.

Despite the recent price hikes from Disney and others, Eiley from Convergence Research Group thinks there’s still room for customer growth.

At the end of last year, just 36% of U.S. households had a traditional TV subscription, compared with more than half of U.S. households in mid-2022, according to Convergence Research Group data. By the end of 2028, the research firm forecasts just 21% of households will have traditional TV subscriptions.

“There’s still a massive amount of cord cutting going on,” Eiley said.