Hollywood Week: Disney/YouTube TV Deal, Jim Avila, Jimmy Kimmel Honors Cleto Escobedo
- Details
- Category: Haute This Issue
- Published on Saturday, 15 November 2025 10:04
- Written by Janet Walker
The two week standoff between YouTube TV and the Walt Disney Company has ended in a multi-year carriage deal that brings more of Disney's vast library of content to YouTube TV subscribers, including ESPN, ABC, and FX.
Disney/YouTube TV Secure Multi-Year Deal
"This new agreement reflects our continued commitment to delivering exceptional entertainment and evolving with how audiences choose to watch,'' said Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro in a statement. "It recognizes the tremendous value of Disney's programming and provides YouTube TV subscribers with more flexibility and choice. We are pleased that our networks have been restored in time for fans to enjoy the many great programming options this weekend, including college football," reported The Hollywood Reporter.
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In a statement, YouTube TV said, "We're happy to share that we've reached an agreement with Disney that preserves the value of our service for our subscribers and future flexibility in our offers. Subscribers should see channels including ABC, ESPN and FX returning to their service over the course of the day, as well as any recordings that were previously in their Library. We apologize for the disruption and appreciate our subscribers' patience as we negotiated on their behalf."
For ESPN sports fans, the deal allows the 10 million subscribers, who currently pay around $80 for the basic plan, which allow unlimited access to round the clock sports including college football, NFL, Monday Night Football, WWE, and WrestleMania.
All Disney channels, including National Geographic, will still be available to YouTube TV subscribers. As Disney continues its find viable options to enhance it streaming ambitions, partnering with YouTube TVs parent Google, can provide future endeavors.
The new "Unlimited Access" offering, which is expected to be completed in 2026, has not yet included what consumers are more concerned over, a price hike. It seems unlikely that with all the extra's that will be included in the unlimited viewing package, that a price hike won't also be included.
The two week outage, which was the longest in history, heated up when Google CEO, Sundar Pichai and Disney CEO Bob Iger entered into the negotiations. While the groundwork was laid out by members of each of the companies negotiation teams, the deal wasn't sealed until the Iger and Pichai entered.
With Iger allegedly retiring in 2026, his presence can expect to felt in future contractual disputes across the board.
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Jim Avila, Senior Correspondent for ABC News, Dies
Jim Avila, longtime ABC Senior Law and Justice correspondent, a trusted name in journalism and a national reporter for the network, has died this week. He was 70.
Avila, who was known as a dogged journalist also covered Barack Obama's White House and worked as a correspondent for "20/20," ABC's news magazine. He began his career in Los Angeles and was picked up as a national correspondent by ABC, at a time when few Hispanic were on-air with the network.
"Mr. Avila joined ABC News in 2004, and as a national correspondent with a focus on law and justice he covered high-profile court cases, including Jerry Sandusky's sexual-abuse case at Penn State and the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's physician who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter," The New York Times reported.
Plagued by health issues, Avila required a kidney transplant in 2018. Unable to find a match, Avila's brother Jaie donated one of his to his ailing brother. It gave him a new lease on life, adding seven more years. In 2021, he left ABC to return to his hometown of San Diego, California and continued making a impact in the world of journalism.
Avila is survived by his three children, and two siblings.
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Cleto Escobedo III, Musician, Jimmy Kimmel Band Leader, Dies
Cleto Escobedo III, the band leader on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," and Kimmel's lifelong friend, died this week, from cardiogenic shock. He was 59.
Kimmel announced the passing of his lifelong friend on Instagram, stating, "Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III. To say that we are heartbroken is an understatement. Cleto and I have been inseparable since I was nine years old. The fact that we got to work together every day is a dream neither of us could ever have imagined would come true. Cherish your friends and please keep Cleto's wife, children and parents in your prayers."
On November 11, Kimmel dedicated his extended opening monologue, which can be seen here, to celebrate and mourn the life of his friend, Cleto Escobedo. Throughout the nearly 23 minute dedication, he frequently cried, and was unable to mask his hurt and loss, as he explained how the merging of fates brought the two together, as young boys, in Las Vegas. And the pair become fast, and inseparable friends, blood brothers for life. They shared the antics of adolescence, crossing from boyhood fun into the teenage danger zone, and to hear Kimmel talk of his friend, even with the exploits, his natural gift of music, Cleto played the saxophone, life his father, Cleto Escobedo Sr., was his true and real passion. This desire for music crossed over into every area of his life and he pursued each with a dedicated passion.
To hear Kimmel explain, Escobedo lived his wild, rebellious days in his youth, and when as an adult he become the opposite, he was a man who loved his family, his children, his wife, and keeping his parents and extended family close.
"Kimmel previously told ABC7 that his friend — whose father also performed tenor and alto saxophones on Live! — was a "child prodigy." He "toured with Earth, Wind and Fire, Paula Abdul" and "had his own record deal" before boarding the talk show, Kimmel said, noting that he "had to have" his friend as his band leader," People Magazine reported.
During the monologue, Kimmel explains that when he received his offer to host his show, he knew the only person he wanted as the band leader was Escobedo, and while he expected the Disney executives to reject his suggestion, they loved him, and the rest is show biz history. Cleto and the Cletones have been the house band for Kimmel for the last 23 years.
Cleto Escobedo III is survived by his wife, Lori, and two children, parents, relatives, extended family and heartbroken fans.
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Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade. A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," and "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.
