Pat McAfee On ESPN and YouTube TV Dispute Leaving Sports Fans Frustrated

The contract disagreement between ESPN and YouTube TV continues, leaving viewers without key sporting events like college football games and Monday Night Football.

The blackout started on October 31, 2025, when many discovered that ESPN, ABC, and other Disney channels were unavailable. The dispute is between Disney, which owns ESPN, and Google, which owns YouTube TV. Both sides blame the other for the situation. Disney has directed users to a website for updates, while YouTube TV offered a $20 credit if the issue persists.

Pat McAfee, a popular ESPN personality, criticized colleagues for advising viewers to visit websites to resolve the issue. “We’re all done with it. 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 have to say or any website that will be visited. There are, I don’t want to say the exact names, but these people (hands up high), let’s put our swords down. Let’s put our swords down for the good of sports,” said McAfee to Sports Illustrated.

The impact on fans is significant. They missed an entire weekend of college games and a Monday night game. McAfee emphasized that this conflict is between major corporations, not the viewers or on-air talent, and shouldn’t be their problem.

These kinds of conflicts are not new. A similar blackout occurred in 2021 but lasted only two days. Now, there's no indication of when it will resolve. Fans continue to pay for content they can’t access, while Disney and YouTube TV release public statements blaming each other.

For those looking for alternatives, options include free trial periods with DirecTV and Fubo, single-day passes on Sling, and special deals on Hulu Live. However, these solutions are temporary.

McAfee also called for cooperation. “We need each other. A lot of people saying ‘greedy companies,’ it’s like, yeah. We need each other, especially with where sports are now. And we’re in the middle of it, so let’s get it done. And stop asking me to go to a website. I don’t want to do that, so stop... all you’re doing is making everyone madder. So it’s like, let’s just not do that,” he remarked to Sports Illustrated.

As the dispute lingers, fans are the ones who suffer most, unable to watch their favorite sports. Without a resolution, the timeline for returning to normal viewing remains uncertain.