© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit is feeling the wrath from college football fans.
Ahead of the college football weekend, ESPN went dark on YouTube TV amid a dispute over carriage fees.
Via ESPN statement.
“Unfortunately, Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to deny their subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC. Without a new agreement in place, their subscribers will not have access to our programming, which includes the best lineup in live sports — anchored by the NFL, NBA, and college football, with 13 of the top 25 college teams playing this weekend. With a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor. We know how frustrating this is for YouTube TV subscribers and remain committed to working toward a resolution as quickly as possible.”
Unfortunately for fans, ESPN was still dark on YouTube TV during college football Saturday, and ESPN enlisted Herbstreit to instruct fans to complain to Google about the dispute.
YouTube TV customers: go to https://t.co/thEUtGNysz now to get ESPN back so you can watch College GameDay and all of this weekend’s CFB matchups on ESPN and ABC. pic.twitter.com/hsRUFmMgfT
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) November 1, 2025
Fans ripped into Herbstreit for telling fans to complain to YouTube for a problem created by ESPN.
“Herbstreit on there flying solo after gameday across the US to cover a game and
@Disney @espn out trying to encourage customers to advocate their provider give in. Maybe font pay people to talk about games extraordinary amounts. Fans aren’t stupid said one fan.
“NO. You greedy corporate losers can figure it out and I’m not going to any website or calling any stupid number. Just stop being scumbags” commented another fan
ESPN to Kirk Herbstreit: https://t.co/r7vJ1WfrD7 pic.twitter.com/nkF8s4g9TA
— College Sports Only (@CSOonX) November 1, 2025
As of now, it’s unclear when ESPN and YouTube TV will come to an agreement on their dispute.