Well that would be a shame. The 2025 CMA Awards are coming up next week, on Wednesday, November 19. The annual show takes place at Bridgestone Arena here in Nashville, and this year Lainey Wilson will serve as the solo host for the first time after co-hosting last year with Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning. But as it stands right now, millions of people won’t be able to watch the 59th Annual CMA Awards. As everybody knows by now, YouTube TV and Disney are locked into a contract dispute that has resulted in the Disney family of networks, including ESPN and ABC, being removed from the streaming platform. That means no college football, no “Dancing With The Stars,” and if the dispute continues into next week, no CMA Awards for the estimated 10 million YouTube TV subscribers. It doesn’t appear that there’s an end to the standoff in sight, despite Disney reportedly losing $4 million per day and $30 million per week that the carriage dispute drags on. During a recent call with investors, Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston warned that the dispute “could go for a little while,” though we don’t know how long a “little while” is. Meanwhile, YouTube TV, which is owned by Google, is accusing Disney of trying to jack up the price to carry their networks, which would force the streaming service to (yet again) raise the price of their service for consumers: “Our current agreement with Disney has approached its renewal date, and we will not agree to terms that disadvantage our members while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products. Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to reach a fair deal.” There’s also the added layer of Disney owning several of its own streaming services, like Hulu, Fubo, Disney+ and ESPN, with many believing that Disney is doing this to try to draw consumers away from YouTube TV and to their own platforms. So basically we’ve got two billion dollar companies arguing over money, and at the end of the day, the consumers are the ones who lose. Sounds about right. All that to say, if the dispute carries on until next Wednesday, which it sounds like it will, country music fans who have YouTube TV will have to look elsewhere to watch the CMA Awards. That means either subscribing to another streaming service like Hulu, Fubo or Sling (which isn’t owned by Disney, for what it’s worth), or watching the show with a conventional antenna. ESPN has attempted to ease the backlash from college football fans by streaming College GameDay live on X every Saturday that the dispute carries on, so that would also be a possibility for the CMA Awards if they chose to. I’ve reached out to the CMA Awards for comment on the possibility that the show won’t be available to YouTube TV subscribers and whether there are any plans to make the show available for free on any other platforms, and we’ll let you know if we hear back from them. But as of right now, if you want to watch the show next week and you have YouTube TV, it’s time to start thinking about alternate options. 2025 CMA Awards Nominees Entertainer of the Year Morgan Wallen Luke Combs Lainey Wilson Cody Johnson Chris Stapleton Album of the Year Am I Okay? – Megan Moroney Producer: Kristian Bush Mix Engineer: Justin Niebank Cold Beer & Country Music – Zach Top Producer: Carson Chamberlain Mix Engineer: Matt Rovey F-1 Trillon – Post Malone Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore I’m The Problem – Morgan Wallen Producers: Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome, Joey Moi Mix Engineers: Charlie Handsome, Joey Moi Whirlwind – Lainey Wilson Producer: Jay Joyce Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce Male Vocalist of the Year Chris Stapleton Morgan Wallen Luke Combs Cody Johnson Zach Top Female Vocalist of the Year Lainey Wilson Ella Langley Megan Moroney Kelsea Ballerini Miranda Lambert Vocal Group of the Year Old Dominion The Red Clay Strays Little Big Town Lady A Rascal Flatts Vocal Duo of the Year Brooks & Dunn Dan + Shay Brothers Osborne The War and Treaty Maddie & Tae Single of the Year “4X4XU” – Lainey Wilson Producer: Jay Joyce Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma” – Luke Combs Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton Mix Engineer: Chip Matthews “Am I Okay?” – Megan Moroney Producer: Kristian Bush Mix Engineer: Justin Niebank “I Never Lie” – Zach Top Producer: Carson Chamberlain Mix Engineer: Mat Rovey “You Look Like You Love Me” – Ella Langley ft. Riley Green Producer: Will Bundy Mix Engineer: Jim Cooley Song of the Year “4X4XU” – Lainey Wilson Songwriters: Jon Decious, Aaron Raitiere, Lainey Wilson “Am I Okay? – Megan Moroney Songwriters: Jessie Jo Dillon, Luke Laird, Megan Moroney “I Never Lie” – Zach Top Songwriters: Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols, Zach Top “Texas” – Blake Shelton Songwriters: Johnny Clawson, Josh Dorr, Lalo Guzman, Kyle Sturrock “You Look Like You Love Me” – Ella Langley ft. Riley Green Songwriters: Riley Green, Ella Langley, Aaron Raitiere New Artist of the Year Zach Top Ella Langley Stephen Wilson Jr. Tucker Wetmore Shaboozey Musician of the Year Jenee Fleenor (Fiddle) Paul Franklin (Steel Guitar) Brett Mason (Guitar) Rob McNelley (Guitar) Derek Wells (Guitar) Music Video of the Year “Am I Okay?” – Megan Moroney Directors: Alexander Gavillet, Megan Moroney “I’m Gonna Love You” – Cody Johnson & Carrie Underwood Director: Dustin Haney “Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson Director: TK McKamy “Think I’m In Love With You” – Chris Stapleton Director: Running Bear “You Look Like You Love Me” – Ella Langley & Riley Green Directors: Ella Langley, John Park, Wales Toney Musical Event of the Year “Don’t Mind If I Do” – Riley Green ft. Ella Langley Producers: Scott Borchetta, Jimmy Harnen, Dann Huff “Hard Fought Hallelujah” – Brandon Lake w/ Jelly Roll Producer: Micha Nichols “I’m Gonna Love You” – Cody Johnson w/ Carrie Underwood Producer: Trent Willmon “Pour Me A Drink” – Post Malone ft. Blake Shelton Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome “You Had to Be There” – Megan Moroney ft. Kenny Chesney Producer: Kristian Bush The post Don’t Panic Yet, But You May Not Be Able To Watch The CMA Awards Next Week If You Have YouTube TV first appeared on Whiskey Riff.