Some fans in Philly could miss ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Football’ tonight

The hated Dallas Cowboys will take the field Monday against a former Eagles coach, but some Birds fans in Philadelphia might not be able to watch the game.

ESPN, ABC, and the rest of Disney’s cable TV channels are blacked out on YouTube TV thanks to a carriage dispute with parent-company Google that began Thursday shows no signs of ending soon.

On Monday, Disney said it asked Google to restore ABC for Tuesday ahead of elections in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere.

“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,” Disney said in a statement. “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.”

So far, Google has yet to respond, and the company did not respond to a request for comment.

The situation is not good news for YouTube TV subscribers in Philadelphia, who’ve already missed a weekend of college football games, episodes of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, and 6abc’s Action News.

The real test will come tonight. Monday Night Football is averaging nearly 18 million viewers per game this season, and regardless what fans in Philly think of the Cowboys, Dallas is a national TV draw that could provide the final straw for YouTube TV customers.

The Cowboys are facing the Arizona Cardinals, led by former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who is on the hot seat in his third season as head coach. Recently, Gannon was fined $100,000 for appearing to punch running back Emari Demercado in the stomach after he fumbled at the goal line during the Cardinals’ loss to the Tennessee Titans last month.

What’s the dispute over? Money. YouTube TV has about 10 million subscribers (third largest cable provider behind Comcast and Charter), and the two companies are fighting over how much the streamer should pay Disney each month for each of those viewers.

In a memo to employees Friday, Disney executives Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, along with ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, said the company was seeking “fair rates” and accused Google of trying to “eliminate competition and devalue the very content that helped them build their service.”

Speaking to Deadline, an anonymous YouTube TV executive involved in negotiations claimed Disney was being “unnecessarily aggressive and assertive” in carriage talks, claiming viewership to a number of the company’s cable TV channels is “in decline or non-existent.”

Networks ending up blacked out over carriage disputes is rare, though it happens. TelevisaUnivision has been dark on YouTube TV since late September, a move criticized by President Donald Trump.

Disney-owned Fubo hasn’t had TNT or TBS since April 2024 due to a carriage dispute with Warner Bros. Discovery.

YouTube TV has told customers it would give them a $20 credit if it can’t reach an agreement with Disney, almost enough to cover the $29.99 a month it costs to bundle Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Unlimited.

If the dispute extends into next week, it could really impact Eagles fans, with the Birds scheduled to face the Green Bay Packers on ESPN and ABC on Nov. 10.

If you’re a YouTube TV subscriber in and around Philadelphia, you have some options if you want to watch Monday Night Football.

Since the game is also being broadcast on 6abc, you can stream it for free using a digital antenna if you live in or near the city.

If you’re just looking to watch ESPN, you can subscribe to ESPN Unlimited for $29.99 a month, or jump ship from YouTube TV to another so-called “skinny bundle” that carries the network. Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, DirecTV Stream, and Sling TV are all options, and most offer a free trial period.