What you need to know
- YouTube TV Plans were announced today (Dec 10) a set of 10 genre-specific packages for consumers to tailor their entertainment experience, set to arrive "early 2026."
- The platform teased its Sports Plan, a package that focuses on sports, giving users access to NBC Sports, "all" ESPN networks, ESPN Unlimited, FS1, and more.
- After YouTube TV and Disney finally reached an agreement, the deal for ESPN lacks one major package: MLB.TV.
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Today (Dec 10), YouTube TV announced plans set for 2026 to introduce a set of new plans that consumers might find appealing.
The platform announced "YouTube TV Plans" in a blog post, stating its goal is to "let you tailor your subscription with more options." These new plans aren't set to kick off until "early 2026," per the post; however, it's teasing what's to come by revealing the contents of its YouTube TV Sports Plan. In this, consumers are set to receive access to major sports broadcasters through its service, such as NBC Sports Network and FS1.
The platform states this plan will also include "all" ESPN Networks and ESPN Unlimited.
While the aforementioned broadcasters and services are the meat and potatoes of the Sports Plan, YouTube TV says it will provide a few add-ons, as well. If you're looking for more, consumers can add the NFL Sunday Ticket and RedZone to the Sports Plan for even more NFL action, likely in preparation for the 2026-2027 season next September. Multiview, unlimited DVR, and more will be included.
As YouTube TV stated, the goal of these new "plans" is to give users the ability to tailor their viewing experience. The platform plans to expand this with 10 genre-specific packages next year. This Sports Plan is just one of them, as the post teases the consumer's ability to combine sports and news, focus on family entertainment, focus on sports, or anything else that grabs your attention.
This could've been different, and it probably is
It's hard to gloss over what's transpired between YouTube TV and Disney (after that whole negotiation battle), as ESPN is a major part of this Sports Plan. While talks have concluded positively for the viewer, there was a huge catch for baseball fans: the MLB.TV package is gone. YouTube TV is allowed to keep ESPN after settling with Disney, but a strong catalyst for viewing baseball games was excluded.
The MLB.TV package is headed into the ESPN app next year; however, this integration removes its offering from third parties, like YouTube TV. The new rights agreement with MLB gives ESPN full control over out-of-market games.
If things went differently, perhaps MLB.TV would've been included in YouTube TV's Sports Plan, but who knows. It's also quite timely that YouTube TV has announced this Sports Plan (and its new plans in general), considering it Disney's channels returned roughly a month ago.
After two long weeks, the two finally reached an agreement, bringing back 21 channels to consumers who were growing tired of the back and forth.
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