A judge has ordered The Walt Disney Company to pay a $50 million class action settlement with YouTube TV and DirecTV subscribers. Disney previously agreed to pay. The lawsuit, filed in 2023, claimed Disney inflated streaming costs by requiring that streaming platforms include ESPN.
Disney Class Action Settlement
The plaintiffs allege Disney’s carriage agreements forcing ESPN to be included in streaming bundles drove up subscription prices and were anti-competitive.
The settlement classes include customers who purchased a YouTube TV or DirectTV streaming live pay TV subscription from April 1, 2019, through the date of preliminary approval. The agreement also requires Disney to consider subscription package proposals that include fewer Disney networks, potentially excluding ESPN.
The settlement was approved and signed by Judge Edward J. Davila on March 31, 2026, and there is a fairness hearing on January 14, 2027. A fairness hearing determines whether the proposed settlement benefits class members.
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