MIAMI—TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision’s U.S. networks (Univision, UNIMÁS, TUDN, and Galavisión) on YouTube TV’s Base Plan and Spanish Plan.

In addition, ViX will be offered through YouTube’s Primetime Channels and, for the first time, YouTube will extend its Primetime Channels product to Mexico.

The two companies also reported that the deal also expands TelevisaUnivision’s collaboration with YouTube through new initiatives that will bring its unique content to a broader audience.

The new deal ends a lengthy blackout of the popular Spanish-language services on the vMVPD that began at the end of September.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement that restores Univision to YouTube TV, ensuring millions of Hispanics can access the news, sports, and entertainment they care about and have relied on for over 70 years,” TelevisaUnivision CEO Daniel Alegre said. “This agreement recognizes the essential role that our content plays in the daily lives of our viewers, as we fulfill our mission of reflecting the voice of Hispanics. We look forward to serving YouTube TV subscribers again.”

NEW YORK—After announcing a short-term deal earlier this week that kept NBC stations on YouTube TV, last night the two sides announced a new long-term distribution agreement that includes the revival of NBC Sports Network.

NBC Sports Network was a pay-TV television channel that originally started as the Outdoor Live Network in 1995 and was rebranded in 2012 after Comcast acquired NBC. It shut down at the end of 2021 after NBC announced that it would be moving much of its sports programming to the USA Network and its (then fledgling) Peacock streaming service.

NBCUniversal had hinted that it was considering launching a new sports network last July, according to a report in the Wall St. Journal.

The new network will be available on YouTube TV as part of NBCUniversal’s agreement with Google and will feature a “broad range” of NBCUniversal’s sports programming. NBCSN will complement the prominent sports properties presented year-round on the NBC broadcast network, NBCUniversal said. The agreement did not indicate which sports would be covered or where else the sports network would be carried.

“Our new agreement with Google is a clear win for both our business and our viewers – underscoring the enduring value of our must-see shows, films, sports, and live events while expanding our reach to even more audiences,” said Matt Schnaars, President of Platform Distribution & Partnerships at NBCUniversal. “We’ve secured long-term access to our full portfolio of broadcast and cable networks on YouTube TV, and we’re advancing our Peacock strategy with an upcoming launch on YouTube Primetime Channels and ongoing presence on Google TV. This agreement positions us for continued growth and reflects our commitment to delivering exceptional entertainment to fans across platforms.”

“This deal builds on our long-standing partnership with NBCU while addressing the evolving media landscape and recognizing the importance of making content available where and how viewers want to watch it,” said Justin Connolly, Vice President, Global Head of Media & Sports at YouTube. “We are pleased to have reached this agreement and look forward to continuing our partnership to serve billions of viewers around the world.”

Neither NBCUniversal or Google revealed how long the agreement was for. Other elements of this agreement include:

• A multi-year, long-term commitment for carriage of NBCUniversal’s full portfolio of networks on YouTube TV, including NBC, Telemundo, Bravo, CNBC, Golf Channel, E!, Oxygen True Crime, MSNBC, USA, Syfy and Universo;
• Peacock will be available in the coming months as a subscription through YouTube Primetime Channels;
• A long-term agreement for short-form clips, highlights and shows from NBCUniversal’s premium programming on YouTube;
• Films and TV shows from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment will continue to be available to buy or rent on Google TV, YouTube TV and YouTube, as well as iconic library films from NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution being available to stream via SVOD on YouTube Premium and AVOD through YouTube Free Primetime Content; and
• A multi-year extension of Peacock’s availability across Google's Android platforms, including Google Play and Google TV.

NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES—Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Weather, Fox Sports, FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes, Big Ten Network, the Fox network and all Fox local stations.

On Monday, YouTube TV told subscribers that it might have to remove Fox media channels from its lineup by 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday if the two didn't reach a carriage agreement. Wednesday night, the two parties said they had reached a “short-term” agreement to keep Fox stations on the streaming service.

Separately, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr had urged the two parties to resolve their differences before the weekend's big game between Texas and Ohio State. “Get the deal done, Google!” he posted on X.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“We’re happy to share that we’ve reached an agreement with Fox to keep their content on YouTube TV, preserve the value of our service for our subscribers and offer more flexibility in the future,” YouTube TV said in a statement. “This means that Fox channels, including the Fox Broadcast Network, Fox News, and Fox Sports, remain available for our subscribers along with 100-plus channels and football fans will not miss any of the action this weekend.”

WASHINGTON—The National Association of Broadcasters has filed a wide-ranging rebuttal to proposals by the pay TV industry that the Federal Communications Commission delete and/or significantly change rules governing retransmission consent and carriage agreements with broadcasters.

The NAB also filed detailed comments on many of the tech and regulatory proposals it made in an early filing listing the regulations it would like to see eliminated or reduced.

The FCC’s deregulatory push and the creation of a docket for public comments called “In Re: Delete, Delete, Delete,” had made the agency's Docket 25-133 one of the most popular items on the agency’s website, with over 1,125 filings as of the morning of May 1. Those comments include lengthy filings and letters from the National Association of Broadcasters, the Society of Broadcast Engineers, state broadcasting associations, America’s Public Television Stations, PBS, Nexstar, Sinclair, Gray Media, Mission Broadcasting and many individual TV stations.

In response to the Delete, Delete, Delete effort, the NCTA, pay TV operators like EchoStar and other telecom groups have also filed proposals to reduce blackouts of stations during contentious negotiations for new retransmission consent or carriage agreements.

In an April 29 filing, the NAB again stressed that broadcasters are already excessively regulated and pushed for the elimination of all ownership caps.

“Part 73 of the CFR [Code of Federal Regulations] alone spans a whopping 423 pages – more than any other regulated service, and more than double the number in Part 76 covering multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs),” the NAB said. “The record in this proceeding is clear: The rules governing broadcasting are not only excessive, but they are also obsolete and counterproductive. They discourage investment, hinder innovation, and place broadcasters at a structural disadvantage … It is time to delete, delete, delete down to the core regulatory framework that supports innovation, investment, and choice for broadcasters and, most importantly, the audiences they serve.”

As part of that, the NAB would like the FCC to eliminate ownership caps, reduce rules that impede the transition to NextGen TV, to sunset ATSC 1.0 broadcasts, update EAS rules and reduce paperwork and rules relating to children’s programming, equal employment opportunity (EEO) rules and other areas.

However, the NAB blasted attempts by pay TV providers to change certain rules relating to retransmission and carriage negotiations.

“There are certain parties who support self-serving and anticompetitive proposals designed to keep broadcasters mired in the morass of existing regulations or even add to them to maintain their comparative advantage over TV and radio stations,” the NAB said. “In particular, NAB opposes the pay TV industry’s proposals concerning retransmission consent and other carriage issues that are unlawful, harmful to consumers, seek to increase regulation in contravention of the goals of this proceeding, or brazenly ask the commission to eliminate rules required by statute.”

More specifically, the NAB said pay TV “proposals for certain retransmission consent and other carriage-related ‘reforms’ are unlawful, contrary to the purpose of this proceeding or both.”

The NAB added: “A few pay TV commenters [have] … attempted to recast their past proposals for additional rules as proposals to delete rules … Virtually all these proposals have been advanced previously as part of pay TV providers’ longstanding strategy of seeking to artificially depress the fees they pay broadcasters for repackaging and reselling broadcast content. Because their proposals would advance pay TV providers’ efforts to stifle competition from television stations, harm consumers, and contravene both the Communications Act of 1934 (Act) and the goals of this proceeding, the Commission should decline to adopt them.”

In the filing, the NAB rebutted a large number of specific proposals by NCTA: The Television & Internet Association and other pay TV-backed groups. It also argued that EchoStar’s proposal that the FCC should allow satellite operator to import signals from other stations was “unlawful.” The EchoStar proposal would significantly strengthen pay TV operators' negotiating position in retransmission disputes.

“While NAB agrees that some of the rules should be eliminated to provide broadcasters with greater flexibility, others remain essential to ensuring quality service to the public and should be retained,” it concluded.

The filing also addressed a number of technical issues, including:

• Certain proposals by low-power FM radio (LPFM) advocates that could change the local nature of the service and increase the risk of interference to FM services;
• Significant concerns regarding proposed rule changes that would allow FM radio stations to operate from distributed transmitters instead of a single main transmitter.
• NAB said it supports allowing greater power and flexibility to ultra wideband (UWB) systems.
• It argued that Very Low Power (VLP) operations cannot avoid the requirement to include antennas in 6 GHz VLP Devices.
• NAB supported proposals concerning interference protection of TV channels 10 and 13 by PTC operations.
• It argued that FM allocation requirements should not be eliminated.
• Rules concerning FM6 LPTV stations should be retained, the NAB said.
• Special Temporary Authority (STA) filing requirements in the Licensing and Management System (LMS) should be eliminated for situations that have little potential for increasing interferenc, the NAB argued.
• The NAB said that the agency should reject requests to eliminate protections for TV channel 6, which "the commission has repeatedly determined to retain."
• Finally, the FCC should eliminate its White Space Devices rules, as this is a failed service that does not warrant continued inclusion, the filing said.

The full filing is available here.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In response to a growing number of programming blackouts caused by programmers and pay TV operators unable to reach carriage and retransmission consent agreements, the Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced proposals that she hopes will help consumers impacted by the blackouts. 

The move comes at a time when cord-cutting and the decline of the pay TV ecosystem has produced increasingly acrimonious negotiations between programmers and operators that have produced a number of major blackouts of local stations and TV programming involving Nexstar, DirecTV, Dish, Disney, Charter and others in the last year.  

In response, Rosenworcel has shared two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking with her fellow commissioners that would, if adopted by a vote of the full Commission, seek comment on rebates for consumers and requiring notifications to the Commission of blackouts lasting more than 24 hours.  

“Enough with the blackouts,” said Rosenworcel in a statement. “When consumers with traditional cable and satellite service turn on the screen, they should get what they pay for. It’s not right when big companies battle it out and leave viewers without the ability to watch the local news, their favorite show, or the big game.  If the screen stays dark, they deserve a refund.”

The two related blackout proposals are: 

• Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks comment on whether and how to require cable and satellite providers to issue rebates to subscribers in the event of a blackout due to a failure to reach a retransmission consent agreement with broadcast station(s)/group owners.
• A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks comment on a proposal to require Multichannel Video Program Distributors (MVPDs) to notify the Commission via an online public portal when there is a blackout of 24 hours or more of broadcast programming due to a failure to reach a retransmission consent agreement.  

NEW YORK—A new analysis from S&P Global Market Intelligence suggests that the carriage dispute between Disney and Charter will be a costly one for Disney, which stands to lose more than $2.2 billion in annual revenue, and is likely to have a widespread impact across the industry. 

Scott Robson, senior research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence noted that: "While we do believe that a deal will eventually be reached and Disney's channels will return to Charter's lineups, the impact of the dispute has the potential to alter future carriage negotiations across the industry."

"The carriage dispute between Charter and Disney highlights an industry undergoing a challenging transition from linear to streaming,” he wrote. “We estimate that Charter's carriage payment obligations to Disney are just under $2.3 billion in 2023. This has grown from an estimated $2.16 billion in 2019, when Charter and Disney last renewed their carriage agreement. Charter is paying a higher price for a product that is being used less by its subscribers. Combined ratings for the Disney-owned networks have fallen over 50% in the past decade from the peak in 2013 to 2022."

An analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence's Ron Marcelo and Scott Robson, noted that “the rising popularity of streaming services has disrupted the traditional cable business and forced multichannel operators to evaluate the amount of money they are paying programmers for content. The dispute between industry titans Charter and Disney has the potential to change how the industry operates going forward. The rising cost of sports content has caused networks to pass off higher fees to operators, which have then passed them off to consumers. However, as cord-cutting continues to plague the industry, the cycle of rising fees is reaching a breaking point.”

Using S&P Global Intelligence’s 2023 basic cable network license fee estimates and first-quarter 2023 Media Census subscriber, the analysis estimates that “Charter's carriage payment obligations to Disney are just under $2.3 billion in 2023. This has grown from an estimated $2.16 billion in 2019, when Charter and Disney last renewed their carriage agreement.”

They also estimate that the price that Charter is paying for the 17 Disney-owned basic cable networks has grown at an average annual rate of 6.7% from 2019 to 2023, making the 2023 fees 29.6% higher than the 2019 fees.

“ESPN is the highest-priced network in our database at an estimated cost of $9.42 per subscriber per month,” they noted. 

Meanwhile Disney has been shifting some content to its streaming services and ratings have declined at Disney’s 14 basic cable networks over the past decade by about 50%, forcing Charter to pay more for a product that its subscribers use less. 

“The children's networks have seen the largest declines, with the flagship Disney Channel's average 24-hour rating of 0.15 in 2022 marking an 88.6% decline from 1.32 in 2013,” they wrote.  

S&P Global Market Intelligence also estimates that “the US video market lost 6.4% of its subscribers in the second quarter of 2023 and that its video subs have fallen from 17.4 million in Q1 2015 to 14.7 million in Q2 2023. 

“The carriage dispute between Charter and Disney highlights an industry undergoing a challenging transition from linear to streaming,” the S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis concluded. “While both companies are invested in making these relationships work, there are obvious pain points that might result in changes to the status quo. If Disney makes concessions on pricing, it has the potential for other programmers — such as Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. — to lose negotiating leverage with operators moving forward and be forced to accept lower rates for the linear networks. On the flip side, if Charter agrees to Disney's demands, smaller operators might be put in a position to abandon video altogether as the margins no longer make sense. While we do believe that a deal will eventually be reached and Disney's channels will return to Charter's lineups, the impact of the dispute has the potential to alter future carriage negotiations across the industry.”

NEW YORK and El Segundo, Calif.—Warner Bros. Discovery and DirecTV have announced that discovery+ is now available to DirecTV and DirecTV Stream customers.

The carriage deal means that customers now have access to the full library of 70,000+ episodes of original series and library content from the Warner Bros. Discovery's family of networks. 

As part of the agreement, DirecTV and DirecTV Stream customers can purchase the ad-lite tier of discovery+ for $4.99 per month, receiving a $2 monthly discount off their DirecTV or DirecTV Stream video subscription.

DirecTV and DirecTV Stream customers can also access discovery+ within their usual DirecTV and DirecTV Stream interface, allowing them to enjoy all their discovery+ content in one place already familiar to them, the companies said. 

“DirecTV always strives to offer the content our customers want most, wherever, whenever, and using whatever device – but also at a strong value they can really appreciate,” said Rob Thun, DirecTV chief content officer. “As more of our customers gain interest in top streaming services, and we add streaming services from programmers like Warner Bros. Discovery whose linear channels we also offer, we can help our programming partners expand their reach while also offering our customers similar preferred discounts.”

“At discovery+, we know our audiences look for our content across platforms and distribution services, and our mission is to provide access to our best-in-class content to as many consumers as possible,” said Sarah Bergman, senior vice president, distribution at Warner Bros. Discovery. “Our partnership with DirecTV allows us to continue to build on that goal by offering our beloved programming to its customer base, expanding the reach of our content, and adding ease and accessibility to our fans’ viewing experience.” 

More than 70,000 episodes of current and classic shows are available on discovery+ from Discovery’s iconic portfolio of networks, including HGTV, Food Network, TLC, ID, OWN, Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Magnolia Network, along with more than 200 discovery+ original titles and hundreds of hours of exclusive content. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Common Cause has commended Verizon for its decision to drop One America News Network from its channel line-up at the end of July. 

The decision by DirecTV to drop OAN earlier this year and Verizon’s decision not to renew carriage, means that no major pay TV outlet will be carrying the conservative news network, which has been under fire for  promoting false and misleading information about the COVID-19 pandemic, the results of the 2020 election, and the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.

Conversative news organizations OAN, Fox News and Newsmax also face a billion-dollar libel lawsuit brought by the Dominion Voting Systems and OAN faces a separate libel suit from Smartmatic, another maker of voting machines. 

Common Cause and a coalition of civil-rights, human-rights and media-justice organizations have pushed the major carriers to drop OANN since 2021. Last year, the coalition organized a letter to the CEOs of AT&T and DirecTV urging their companies to sever business ties with the network. After more than 170,000 people signed a petition calling on AT&T and DirectTV to cut all ties with OANN,  DirecTV dropped the channel from its lineup.

“With the move by Verizon Fios, One America News Network will be left without a major carrier to spread its often harmful and dangerous disinformation and baseless conspiracy theories,” said Yosef Getachew, Common Cause Media and Democracy program director. “This is a welcome change but long overdue. OANN has spread lies that have hindered U.S. efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, undermined Americans’ faith in our elections, and fed the Big Lie narrative that led to a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. We hope those remaining small pay-tv providers and streaming services still carrying OANN will follow suit and deprive the outlet of any platform to spread harmful conspiracy theories that have done real world harm. No company should profit from spreading content that endangers our democracy."

WASHINGTON—Qualified noncommercial educational (NCE) TV translator stations will not be required to send an email notification regarding carriage to MVPDs by Oct. 1, as the FCC has officially granted a petition on the matter.

America’s Public Television Stations (APTV) and PBS filed a joint petition to the FCC about its newly adopted MVPD carriage election notice requirements, which would have required NCE translator stations, as well as qualified LPTV stations, to email a “baseline” carriage notice to any MVPDs on which they were seeking or expecting carriage during the 2021-2023 carriage cycle. The deadline to do so was going to be Oct. 1.

The petition argued that sending such emails would result in a “substantial burden” for NCE stations, and as a result the requirement should be waived. Key to their arguments were that the NCE translator stations do not originate programming, but rather rebroadcast of NCE full-power TV stations; that NCEs may only elect “must carry” options for MVPDs, while LPTVs can select either “must carry” or retransmission consent; also, in many cases, NCEs do not know which MVPDs are carrying them and there is no resource to easily determine the information. Ultimately, emailing MVPDs provides no benefit, the petition argued, but could result in loss of service in the event that an NCE fails to provide proper notice.

“Given the unique characteristics of NCE translators, the public interest would be best served by waiving the baseline email notification requirement for NCE translators adopted in the 2020 Report and Order,” the FCC said.

The petition went unopposed by MVPDs.

The FCC added that email requirements are still in place for all qualified LPTV stations.

For more information, the full FCC document is available online. 

WASHINGTON—With America’s Public Television Stations and PBS having filed a petition requesting the FCC waive a current “baseline” carriage notification deadline, the Media Bureau has opened the floor to others on the subject, asking for comments.

The petition requests that the Media Bureau waive the requirement that noncommercial educational (NCE) TV translators email a carriage notice to MVPDs on which they will be seeking or expecting carriage in the 2021-2023 carriage cycle by Oct. 1 of this year. They believe that given the unique characteristics of NCE translators, this one-time email would prove to be an issue and risk the loss of coverage for viewers.

In 2019, the FCC adopted rules that updated carriage election notice rules for full power broadcast stations and sought comments on placing similar rules on qualified low power TV stations and NCE translators. Among the new rules was that covered stations had to send carriage notices to MVPDs via email and to place carriage election statements into their online public files.

The FCC found that requiring placement on online public files for LPTVs and NCEs would be unduly burdensome since those stations do not currently maintain online public files. Rather, the commission found that in order to provide “baseline” info to MVPDs, both groups had to send these one-time email notifications by Oct. 1.

APTS and PBS petition that, unlike LPTVs, NCEs do not have to provide notification to be automatically carried by MVPDs under the Communications Act of 1934. The petition argues that in many cases, NCE translators don’t even know which MVPDs carry them and have no resource to determine that. As a result, even a one-time email creates a “substantial burden,” according to the petition.

The Media Bureau now seeks comments on these arguments from APTS and PBS. Comments will be due Sept. 8, with reply comments then due on Sept. 14.

Here is the official notice from the FCC. 

LOS ANGELES—There was no blackout of Fox-owned broadcast stations and networks for National Cable Television Cooperative members and subscribers when the clock struck midnight on 2019, as the two sides reached a new carriage agreement.

Fox shared the news on its site www.keepfoxnewsandsports.com, which features the following statement:

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the NCTC that avoids any disruption to our viewers. All of the NCTC’s members will continue to carry our portfolio of leading sports, entertainment and news programming for years to come.”

The Fox programming referred to in that statement includes Fox-owned broadcast stations, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes and Fox Soccer Plus.

The NCTC represents more than 700 small and rural cable operators that cover around 3 million subscribers.

Fears of a blackout were raised by NCTC as it claimed that Fox was seeking a rate increase 10x its current rate. The financial terms for the agreement have not been disclosed.

STAMFORD, Conn.—Following a few extensions and a warning from Charter’s Spectrum to its subscribers that Tegna stations could go dark if a new carriage deal was not reached, the two sides have come to terms on a long-term agreement.

“We reached an agreement with Tegna to provide local ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and other multi-cast channels to our customers,” Charter wrote in a tweet. “We are pleased to have reached a fair agreement for everyone and appreciate your support and patience.”

Tegna also tweeted the news: “We have reached an agreement with @GetSpectrum that will ensure our station stays on your lineup. Thank you for reading this message and being part of our community.”

No financial terms for the deal were announced.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—The blackout of Fox stations for Dish customers came to an end over the weekend, as the two sides finalized a multi-year carriage agreement, according to an announcement from Dish. As a result, Fox’s owned-and-operated stations, as well as FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, Fox Soccer Plus and Fox Deportes are once again available for Dish customers.

Fox stations’ went dark on Dish on Sept. 26. The new deal, for which financial terms have not been disclosed, was completed in time that Dish customers were able to watch this past Sunday’s NFL games that aired on Fox.

“We appreciate our customers’ patience as we worked to reach a long-term agreement that restores the Fox networks and local broadcast stations,” a statement from Dish read.

Fox confirmed the agreement in a statement of its own:

“We are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Dish and Sling, and they are immediately restoring their subscribers’ access to the Fox networks and television stations. We are grateful to our viewers for their patience during this disruption.”