Days left to apply for $50 million settlement over Disney, streaming prices

(NEXSTAR) – Subscribers of certain streaming platforms may qualify for payment in a $50 million settlement reached in a lawsuit filed against Disney.

An antitrust lawsuit was brought against The Walt Disney Company by subscribers of YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream, and FuboTV. They accused Disney of “engaging in various forms of conduct to raise the prices of Streaming Live Pay Television.”

Disney, which also owns Hulu and ESPN, allegedly used its size to “inflate prices marketwide by raising the prices of its own products,” the lawsuit said. Specifically, the plaintiffs accused the company of dramatically inflating prices since taking control of Hulu in 2019.

The plaintiffs are seeking “damages as well as injunctive relief to halt and unwind Disney’s anticompetitive practices.”

Disney denied any wrongdoing but agreed to a partial settlement with YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream.

If you qualify, you have just days to file a claim.

Who qualifies for payment in the settlement?

If you purchased a subscription for YouTube TV or DirecTV Stream (including DirecTV Stream, DirecTV Now, and AT&T TV Now) between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2026, you may qualify.

There hasn’t been a settlement with FuboTV plaintiffs so far, meaning subscribers do not qualify for this process.

Not $50 million. A portion of the settlement will be used for administration costs and other fees.

What remains will be split between two groups of settlement members: those in “repealer jurisdictions” and those in “non-repealer jurisdictions.”

Ninety percent of what remains in the settlement fund will be used to pay class members in “repealer jurisdictions.” That includes Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the 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, or Wisconsin.

The remaining 10% will be used for payments to those in a “non-repealer jurisdiction,” which includes Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, or Wyoming.

You will receive a pro rata, or equal share, cash payment that is “proportional to the length of your YouTube TV and/or DirecTV Stream subscription,” settlement administrators explain. You can receive a cash payment for both subscriptions; you’ll need to include information for both when submitting a claim.

You have until Sept. 8, 2026, to file a claim online or by mail. You can complete your claim and find more information here .

Qualifying subscribers of YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream were sent notices in the mail or by email, the settlement administrators say (you may have to check your spam folder to find it). That notice contains a Unique ID that you’ll use to submit your online claim.

It’s not yet clear exactly when payments will be sent out. The settlement requires final approval from the court, and objections can stall the process. A final approval hearing has been scheduled for January 2027.