YouTube TV saw cancellations spike during the 15-day Disney blackout — but so did its competitors.
YouTube TV’s cancellation rate surged to 6.9% in November, its highest level in at least a year, according to data from subscription data provider Antenna, shared exclusively with Business Insider.
It wasn’t the only virtual pay-TV bundle to see an uptick in cancellations, however. All of YouTube TV’s major rivals — including DirecTV Stream, Sling, and Disney’s Hulu + Live TV — also saw their churn rates soar in November to at or near their highest levels in a year, Antenna found.
And there’s another wrinkle. Those same services had their highest sign-up figures in 12 months in November, according to Antenna. Disney’s Hulu + Live TV service saw the largest monthly increase, while DirecTV’s streamer more than doubled its sign-ups from the previous month.
So, what’s going on?
There are several possible explanations for this simultaneous surge of sign-ups and cancellations.
One is that pay-TV customers hopped back and forth between YouTube TV and its rivals during the Disney dispute and the less-followed NBC-Fubo TV blackout that started in late November.
Carriage disputes can have a “hot potato effect” on cancellations and sign-ups for live TV services, said Brandon Katz, the insights and content strategy director at entertainment data provider Greenlight Analytics.
Sports calendars could also have played a role, said Alan Wolk, a media analyst who cofounded research firm TVREV. He noted that the NBA and NHL seasons started in late October, while college basketball began in early November. Fans may have signed up to watch those leagues or switched from one live TV service to another.
“The market is very much in flux,” Wolk told Business Insider. “You have some people leaving, and some people coming in, depending on what they want to watch.”
Black Friday promotions were also in play. YouTube TV offered new customers a $10 monthly discount for their first three months, DirecTV provided up to $45 off its first month, and Sling reduced its “day-pass” rate from $5 to $1. Hulu + Live TV had a sale starting in mid-October that took its price down from $83 to $65 a month for a customer’s first three months. It expired on November 18.
Although live TV services like YouTube TV have historically had relatively low cancellation rates, that may be changing. The average churn rate for TV streamers was 5.1% at the end of the third quarter, according to Antenna, up from 4.5% from January 2023 through June 2025.
Antenna
Spokespeople for YouTube-parent Google, Sling, and Disney didn’t respond to requests for comment. DirecTV declined to comment.
