The fallout from YouTube Red, its forthcoming ad-free subscription service, is already underway. Today, the majority of ESPN’s video content has been pulled off of YouTube in the US, as the sports network currently can’t participate in the YouTube Red service due to rights issues surrounding its content.

Though TechCrunch can now confirm that parent company Disney does have a deal with YouTube Red, ESPN itself doesn’t have permission to distribute its videos through a subscription video service like YouTube Red due to other contracts in has in place – including those with various distribution partners.

And because YouTube creators have to sign YouTube Red’s subscription deal or see their videos pulled from YouTube, much of ESPN’s content across a number of its channels is now gone in the US.

The change to ESPN’s YouTube channel was initially spotted by Deadspin, which found that most of ESPN’s channels were affected, including its main channel as well as other popular channels like Grantland, First Take, and the NBA on ESPN, for example. In total, 11 of ESPN’s 13 channels are impacted by this issue, while only X-Games and Nacion ESPN are still live.

As Variety notes, the most recent video on ESPN’s main channel is from January 2012, as the majority of ESPN’s more current content is now gone. It’s unclear if any of ESPN’s pulled content will ever return to YouTube in the US.

ESPN provided a statement, saying “ESPN is not currently part of the Red service. Content previously available on the free YouTube service will be available across ESPN digital properties.” At least that last part is good news for sports fans.

According to a YouTube spokesperson, Disney did sign the YouTube Red agreement, but ESPN’s rights and legal issues preclude being part of YouTube Red at launch. So essentially, because ESPN can’t legally have some of its content in subscription services in the US, it won’t be on Red, and therefore has to take down its own videos in from the ad-supported version of YouTube in the US, though some of its content remains visible in other parts of the world.