On Friday (Nov. 14), YouTube TV and Disney struck a deal that finally returned ESPN, ABC and a host of other Disney-owned channels to the live TV streaming service after two weeks of blackouts. That was a big relief to customers like me, though admittedly, claiming my $20 credit for missing out on Disney softened the blow.
But if you weren't paying attention to the news closely, you might have missed one important detail. With this new distribution agreement, YouTube TV subscribers now get the ESPN Unlimited streaming service for free.
What is ESPN Unlimited?
For those of you who haven't heard of ESPN Unlimited, or aren't sure why this is a big deal, let me explain. ESPN Unlimited is a direct-to-consumer streaming service that includes every ESPN network on linear cable TV, ESPN on ABC broadcasts, ESPN Plus content and WWE Premium Live Events, all in one streaming service. In short, it gives you everything ESPN has to offer — no caveats.
You can sign up for this directly from ESPN for $29.99; right now, you can even get Disney Plus (with ads) and Hulu (with ads) included for free for 12 months. But if you have certain cable, satellite or cable TV alternatives, you can also get ESPN Unlimited included in your subscription for no additional charge.
Until this new deal was finalized, YouTube TV was not among those providers that could offer ESPN Unlimited for free. But no longer, and that's a big win for subscribers. While the channels ESPN Unlimited offers were already available through YouTube TV, getting ESPN Plus content and WWE PLEs included for free is a genuine improvement. Especially given how much professional wrestling fans have to pay out of pocket to stream everything from WWE and AEW.
How to add your YouTube TV account to your ESPN account
If you have YouTube TV, adding your subscription to your ESPN account to get ESPN Unlimited is easy. You can do it through the ESPN app, but here's how I did it on a web browser.
1. Select TV provider from account settings
Once you've made your way to ESPN, click on the account icon, then select TV Provider. Note: You need a free ESPN account to access ESPN Unlimited content. If you don't already have one, you'll need to create one before this step.
2. Select YouTube TV
If you selected TV Provider in the last step, a new pop-up should appear in the same window you're already in. Once it appears, select YouTube TV as your TV provider.
3. Log into your Google account
Once you've selected YouTube TV as your TV provider, you need to give ESPN access to the Google account associated with your YouTube TV subscription. Choose your Google account or log into your Google account.
4. Select Continue
A message will appear asking you to let Synacor YouTube TV access your Google account data. Select Continue.
5. Click on the Watch icon
Great news! You've officially linked YouTube TV to your ESPN account. Now, it's time to start watching. Select the Watch icon.
6. Start watching!
Now you're on the ESPN Watch platform and can start watching with your ESPN Unlimited subscription. If you click on the Browse submenu, you can find live streams of linear TV channels, including ESPN, ESPN2 and more.
Note: If you formerly had an ESPN Plus subscription, you may see an error message warning about your subscription being paused or on hold (see the image above). I promise you, despite this message, you have access to ESPN Unlimited. I was able to watch livestreams of ESPN, ACC Network and more channels with no problems.
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