If You Subscribed to YouTube TV or DirecTV, You Could Be Eligible for a Settlement Payout

Disney settled a lawsuit that alleged the corporation forced higher prices for live TV streaming subscriptions.

Alex Valdes

Ever since being admittedly fascinated by the Cambridge coffee webcam from the 1990s, I've written about VPNs, the NFL, smartphones, living wages, over/unders and everything in between.

2 min read

If you subscribed to YouTube TV or DirecTV at any time since April 2019, you could get cash as part of a $50 million settlement agreed to by Disney in an antitrust lawsuit the corporation faced for allegedly forcing higher prices for live TV streaming services.

To be eligible for a payout, you had to have bought a subscription to either YouTube TV or DirecTV -- or both -- between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2026. DirecTV subscriptions might have been called DirecTV Stream, DirecTV Now and/or AT&T TV Now.

How to apply for the settlement

If you're part of the settlement, you will likely get a notice in your USPS mailbox or your email inbox. Check your junk or spam folders in case your email service filtered it. The deadline for claiming a payment is Sept. 8.

If you get a notice, go to this website and log in with the ID and PIN provided on the settlement notice. You will need to verify your YouTube TV or DirecTV Stream subscription.

If you don't get a notice but believe you are eligible for the cash settlement, send an email to [email protected] or print out a PDF version of the claim form and send it via snail mail to:

Biddle v. Disney

Settlement Administrator

P.O. Box 4720

Portland, OR 97208-4720

Printed settlement claims must be postmarked by Sept. 8.

The settlement terms specify that 90% of the money will go to payees in these states and territories: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The remaining 10% will go to settlement members in other states.

Why the lawsuit?

In Biddle v. Disney, (PDF) filed in 2022, the plaintiffs alleged that Disney violated federal and state antitrust and consumer protection laws by forcing YouTube TV, DirecTV and FuboTV subscribers to pay more for livestreaming TV. The $50 million settlement does not apply to FuboTV plaintiffs, who have not yet settled with Disney.

The plaintiffs alleged that Disney forced streaming platforms to bundle content from expensive channels such as ESPN and Hulu -- both owned by Disney -- into base packages, thereby escalating the subscription prices for those packages. It was alleged that prices for YouTube TV base package subscriptions went up from $35 to $65.

"Since Disney acquired operational control over Hulu in May 2019, prices across the SLPTV [Streaming Live Pay Television] Market, including for YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream, have nearly doubled," the lawsuit alleged.

Disney denies violating any laws. There will be a hearing on Jan. 14, 2027, for final approval of the settlement.

A representative for Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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ALEX VALDES

Ever since being admittedly fascinated by the Cambridge coffee webcam from the 1990s, I've written about VPNs, the NFL, smartphones, living wages, over/unders and everything in between. See full bio