WASHINGTON—The Motion Picture Association has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission urging the agency not to change rules relating to how retransmission consent negotiations are conducted with services like YouTube TV, Hulu Live, and Fubo.

Currently those services (vMVPDs) are not classified as traditional pay TV operators (MVPDs) like Comcast even though they offer very similar packages of channels for a monthly subscription. That means that retransmission consent negotiations with these vMVPDs are conducted by broadcast networks and their parent companies rather than being negotiated by station groups who handle retrans deals with traditional MVPDs.

Broadcast station groups have long argued that they would be able to get higher retransmission fees if they handled the negotiations with vMVPDs.

In a filing made as part of the FCC’s ongoing investigation into the state of competition in the communications marketplace the MPA urged the “the FCC to refrain from intervening in the video marketplace in light of increasing innovation, intermodal competition, and viewer choice.”

The MPA is backed by the major studios as well as Amazon Studios and Netflix Studios that have major interests in the streaming industry,

More specifically, the MPA argued that the “FCC should intervene in the video marketplace only where it has clear legal authority and unequivocal record evidence of market failure. To do otherwise would hinder, rather than help innovation and viewer choice. Today, the marketplace shows abundance and intermodal competition, not clear signs of market failure. Indeed, online services are increasingly providing access to video programming that also remains available on other platforms, a proposition supported by the Public Notice launching this round of comments. From a competition standpoint, examining intermodal competition across broadcast, cable, satellite, telecommunications, and streaming services remains important.”

In addition, the MPA argued that “although streaming services compete with all the other video platforms, the FCC and Congress have both observed that the agency lacks authority to regulate online video services.”

The filing also cited a letter from the previous FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel to Sen. Charles Grassley in March of 2023 stating that “online video programming distributors do not neatly fit in these [multichannel video programming distributor] statutory definitions because they lack a physical connection to subscribers and do not use any electromagnetic frequencies when delivering programming to their viewers” and that “the Commission lacks the power to change these unambiguous provisions.”

That letter cited in the MPA filing also noted “that even if the Commission were to proceed, it would require changes to underlying copyright policies” also outside the FCC’s jurisdiction.

“The filmed entertainment sector continues to deliver content that captivates and caters to the viewing preferences of a wide range of consumers,” the MPA concluded. “The sector is a significant driver of economic opportunities for communities across the nation and enables American consumers to exchange diverse information, ideas, achievements, and culture. But as MPA stated in its 2024 Comments, the video programming marketplace will only continue to thrive if the Commission facilitates a light-touch approach to regulating video services.”

The full filing is available here.

After some bruising carriage battles that have given it more programming flexibility, YouTube TV is moving forward with its previously announced strategy of offering customers more control over their subscriptions with the rollout of more than 10 different plans across sports, news, entertainment and family genres that are priced lower than the main YouTube TV Plan.

YouTube TV announced that three of those genre plans are already available, including a $64.99 a month Sports Plan.

The vMVPD described the three new plans as follows:

• Sports Plan ($64.99/month, or $54.99/month for new users*): At $18 lower than the YouTube TV main plan, the Sports Plan gives fans access to all the major broadcasters as well as sports networks like FS1, NBC Sports Network, all of the ESPN networks, and ESPN Unlimited (coming this fall).
• Sports + News Plan ($71.99/month, or $56.99/month for new users): Priced $11 lower than the main YouTube TV plan, get everything in the Sports Plan plus your national news, with networks such as CNBC, Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, in addition to CSPAN, Bloomberg, and Fox Business.
• Entertainment Plan ($54.99/month, or $44.99/month for new users): For the cinephiles and comedy buffs, the Entertainment Plan includes all your major broadcasters and content, ranging from FX dramas to Hallmark classics, with channels such as Comedy Central, Bravo, Paramount, Food Network, HGTV, and many more, all for $28 lower than the main plan.
• News + Entertainment + Family Plan ($69.99/month, or $59.99/month for new users): For $13 lower than the main plan, bundle your news and entertainment with content for families, such as Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, National Geographic, Cartoon Network, PBS Kids, and more.
• The main YouTube TV plan ($82.99/month w/100+ networks across genres) will remain our most comprehensive offering.

Subscribers who sign up for one of the plans will still have access to the product features offered on YouTube TV, including unlimited DVR, the ability to add up to 6 members on one account, key plays, multiview, and more, the vMVPD said.

Add-ons such as NFL Sunday Ticket, NFL RedZone with Sports Plus, HBO Max, and 4K Plus can also be purchased.

More details are available here.

In a move that will help it offer more flexible and less costly programming options, YouTube TV has announced that it will be launching YouTube TV Plans with more than 10 genre-specific packages.

The vMVPD didn’t provide many details on pricing or content other than the fact that one of the packages will be the YouTube TV Sports Plan.

“The Sports Plan will offer fans access to all the major broadcasters as well as sports networks like FS1, NBC Sports Network, all of the ESPN networks, as well as ESPN Unlimited. Subscribers can include add-ons like NFL Sunday Ticket and RedZone, and keep all fan-favorite features, including unlimited DVR, multiview, key plays, and fantasy view,” explained Christian Oestlien, vice president, head of subscriptions, YouTube in a blog post.

Several other pay TV providers have already launched genre-specific packages, including DirecTV, Sling TV and others.

Commenting on the move, analysts at LightShed Partners noted that “Since YouTube TV launched in early 2017, it has offered a single bundle of channels, which has risen in cost from $35 at launch to $83 today. Programmers, desperate to sustain their cable network businesses, with most suffering from a poor price/value relationship, have jammed in ever more channels and bloated the bundle. While YouTube TV has been able to drop expensive regional sports networks (RSNs), it has not been able to eliminate carriage of lightly watched channels as those networks are owned by large companies that carry networks YouTube TV needs to be competitive.”

Adding the more flexible, less costly genre packages could, they add, help it become the country’s largest pay TV operator in the next few years: “We suspect YouTube TV’s smaller bundles, compelling user interface, superior underlying technology and marketing skill will accelerate its growth, including the cannibalization of facilities-based MVPDs with outdated technology. YouTube TV is already over 10 million subscribers, with Charter the current #1 MVPD/vMVPD at 12.5 million subscribers. Barring a merger of DirecTV and Dish, which should ultimately happen, all signs point to YouTube TV becoming the largest MVPD/vMVPD in the next couple of years.

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.”

BURBANK, Calif.—The Walt Disney Company and YouTube TV have reached a new multi-year distribution agreement, ending a carriage dispute that had blacked out ABC, ESPN, and other Disney-owned channels on the vMPVD since the end of October.

As usual in these carriage agreements, financial terms were not disclosed.

“This new agreement reflects our continued commitment to delivering exceptional entertainment and evolving with how audiences choose to watch,’’ said Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro. in a statement “It recognizes the tremendous value of Disney’s programming and provides YouTube TV subscribers with more flexibility and choice. We are pleased that our networks have been restored in time for fans to enjoy the many great programming options this weekend, including college football.”

Disney said that key elements of the agreement included:

• Carriage of Disney’s full linear portfolio including all the ESPN networks, ABC, the Disney-branded channels, Freeform, the FX Networks, and the National Geographic channels
• ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service (Unlimited Plan) to be made available at no additional cost to YouTube TV subscribers
• Access to a selection of live and on-demand programming from ESPN Unlimited inside YouTube TV
• Select networks to be included in various genre-specific packages
• The ability to include the Disney+, Hulu Bundle as part of select YouTube offerings

WASHINGTON—Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has weighed in on the blackout of ABC, ESPN and other Disney programming on YouTube TV with a post on X says that said the two parties “need to get a deal done and end this blackout.”

“People should have the right to watch the programming they paid for — including football,” he added.

After failing to reach a deal on new retransmission consent payments for ABC and a carriage agreement for Disney’s ESPN and other cable channels, the Disney services were removed from the vMVPD at the end of October when the old agreement expired..

Since the dispute first went public in late October, both sides have traded barbs, blaming the other part for the blackout. YouTube TV has attacked Disney for insisting on terms that would push up prices for pay TV subscribers, while Disney complained that “with a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor.”

YouTube has offered subscribers a $20 credit and in a separate post on X said they were "working to negotiate a deal with Disney that pays them fairly for their content and returns their programming to YouTube TV."

WASHINGTON—The National Association of Broadcasters took aim at YouTube TV and its owner Google in a blog post for its “heavy hand in deciding what viewers can and cannot watch.”

Specifically, the Nov. 3 post by Michelle Lehman, NAB’s chief of staff and executive vice president of public affairs, objected to Google’s unwillingness “to fairly compensate ABC stations” for programming and to Big Tech’s market power, which gives it “enormous control” over what viewers can access.

Negotiations for a new carriage deal between YouTube TV and ABC parent Disney proved to be fruitless by the midnight Oct. 30 deadline for renewal. ABC, ESPN and other Disney-owned networks were dropped from the virtual multichannel video programming distributor’s lineup on Oct. 31. Google also is resisting Disney’s demand for price increases on other non-broadcast channels, such as ESPN, because it says increasing what it pays for the right to carry those channels will raise consumer prices.

As a result of the drop, Lehman said, YouTube TV subscribers who rely on local ABC stations for “important news, emergency information, entertainment and live sports” have been “in the lurch” and “at the mercy” of Google, which the blog said annually generates revenue totaling “hundreds of BILLIONs [blog’s all caps].”

The situation, she wrote, is reminiscent of last month’s retrans dispute with NBCUniversal, which nearly left YouTube TV subscribers without access to NBC stations and has shut them off from Univision stations.

The NAB executive vice president urged readers to act “before it’s too late” by reaching out to Washington to modernize broadcast ownership rules.

“[W]hen local broadcasters are sidelined, it is not just sports fans who lose. It is every community” that relies on broadcasters for emergency notifications, “fact-based news,” and a connection with others who reside there, she wrote.

The contentious contract negotiations between The Walt Disney Co. and YouTube TV have resulted in a blackout of Disney-owned programming on the pay TV operator. That will leave subscribers without access to high-profile NFL, college football, NBA and other sports and entertainment programming until a new carriage deal is concluded.

The blackout includes ESPN; ABC broadcast programming; and other Disney-owned networks. The channels were removed from YouTube TV Thursday evening.

As usual in these negotiations, both sides blamed each other for the impasse.

YouTube TV attacked Disney for insisting on terms that would push up prices for pay TV subscribers, while Disney complained that “with a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor.”

The dispute comes as pay TV operators have been trying to control prices as a way to slow subscriber losses from cord-cutting, and as large programmers like Disney have been launching direct-to-consumer streaming services that allow consumers to access high-profile programming outside the pay TV ecosystem.

In a statement, YouTube said: “Last week, Disney used the threat of a blackout on YouTube TV as a negotiating tactic to force deal terms that would raise prices on our customers. They’re now following through on that threat, suspending their content on YouTube TV. This decision directly harms our subscribers while benefiting their own live TV products, including Hulu + Live TV and Fubo.

“We've been working in good faith to negotiate a deal with Disney that pays them fairly for their content on YouTube TV,” the vMVPD said. “Unfortunately, Disney is proposing costly economic terms that would raise prices on YouTube TV customers and give our customers fewer choices, while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products—like Hulu+Live TV and, soon, Fubo. Without an agreement, we'll have to remove Disney’s content from YouTube TV and if it remains unavailable for an extended period of time, we will offer subscribers a $20 credit.”

In response, a Disney spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter: “Unfortunately, Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to deny their subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC. Without a new agreement in place, their subscribers will not have access to our programming, which includes the best lineup in live sports—anchored by the NFL, NBA and college football, with 13 of the top 25 college teams playing this weekend. With a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor. We know how frustrating this is for YouTube TV subscribers and remain committed to working toward a resolution as quickly as possible.”

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.

YouTube TV has found itself in multiple carriage disputes over the past week from NBC and Univision. Last night, Google, which owns YouTube TV, announced a short-term agreement with NBCUniversal to remain on the streaming service (also known as a virtual MVPD”) while both sides negotiate a new long term agreement.

Univision, however, was not so lucky, with YouTube TV dropping the nation’s largest Spanish language broadcast network at midnight Wednesday.

“We have been working with TelevisaUnivision to reach an agreement that reflects the value of their content,” YouTube TV told its subscribers in an email. “Unfortunately their current demands aren’t supported by their performance on YouTube TV over the last four years, and despite our best efforts, we’ve been unable to reach a deal.”

Last week, Univision launched a “Do the Right Thing Google” public campaign designed to keep the network on YouTube TV, which reportedly had just under 10 million U.S. subscribers as of April 2025.

After YouTube TV announced it was dropping the network, Univision accused the streamer of “stripping millions of Hispanic viewers of the Spanish-language news, sports, and entertainment they rely on every day."

“Google’s actions are especially tone-deaf and egregious on the eve of a potential government shutdown, disregarding the appeals of government officials and Hispanic organizations who urged them to keep Univision on the main bundle,” the network added. “To add insult to injury, YouTube TV chose to take this step during Hispanic Heritage Month—an act that is deeply insensitive and offensive.”

Univision said Google’s decision is “easily reversible.”

“We are always open to finding constructive ways for Hispanics to regain access to their trusted and critical content,” the network said. “We remain steadfast in advocating for our audience and ensuring that YouTube TV subscribers know they have many options to continue watching Univision’s programming through other providers.”

YouTube’s continuing conflicts with broadcast networks drew the ire of NAB, which has consistently criticized the impact that “Big Tech” has on local broadcasters.

“The unchecked dominance of Big Tech companies like Google and its ability to dictate what millions of households can and cannot watch through its YouTube TV platform is a problem for competition and consumers,” said Alex Siciliano, spokesman for NAB. “These behemoths have the upper hand to not only lock out independent, news-leading local stations from their lineup, but also to push around companies like NBCUniversal and TelevisaUnivision. In this case, Google’s actions will have the added impact of depriving millions of Spanish-speaking viewers access to the most trusted broadcast news, sports and entertainment.”

C-SPAN and YouTube this week announced an agreement in which YouTube will sponsor C-SPAN’s America 250 programming and expand access to C-SPAN’s political, public policy, and cultural programming across YouTube and YouTube TV.

C-SPAN will also be added to Hulu + Live TV, a C-SPAN spokesman told Deadline.

The three C-SPAN channels—C-SPAN, C-SPAN2, and C-SPAN3—will all join YouTube TV’s base package lineup this fall. YouTube has also agreed to sponsor the network’s coverage of America 250 celebrations, and “investing in the optimization of C-SPAN's presence on YouTube,” C-SPAN said.

C-SPAN—the only TV network that provides complete gavel-to-gavel coverage of Congress, congressional hearings, and in-depth public affairs events—is a privately funded non-profit television network, operating free of government money and supported primarily through license fees paid by cable, satellite, and streaming companies.

Launched in 1979, C-SPAN is carried by most pay-TV providers and was once seen in more than 100 million homes, but cord-cutting in recent years has dropped viewership to around 70 million. In June, Congress unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution from Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) marking the 39th anniversary of C-SPAN 2’s first Senate broadcast and urging all television providers, including streaming services, to carry the network.

"In addition to the main YouTube platform, we are excited to bring C-SPAN's unfiltered, unbiased programming to YouTube TV’s growing streaming audience," said C-SPAN CEO Sam Feist. "For nearly half a century, C-SPAN has partnered with cable and satellite providers who recognize the value of our important public service. We now look forward to working closely with YouTube to bring C-SPAN's unfiltered coverage of the democratic process to millions more Americans.”

"C-SPAN has long been a vital resource for civic engagement, and we look forward to partnering with them to both expand their footprint on YouTube and to celebrate America 250 together,” said Mary Ellen Coe, Chief Business Officer, YouTube. “Through this partnership, Americans will have access to content that showcases the creators and entrepreneurs who are shaping the future, explores American pastimes and music, and takes a look back at the key historical moments that shaped our nation.”

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.”

Fox and YouTube TV have agreed to a "short-term" extension in their carriage talks as they try to replace the existing agreement that expired on August 27 at 5 pm ET.

The two companies did not say how long of an extension they had agreed to. Such disputes right before the start of football season have become increasingly common in recent years.

"We have reached a short-term extension with Fox to prevent disruption to YouTube TV subscribers as we continue to work on a new agreement," YouTube TV reported in a blog. "We are committed to advocating on behalf of our subscribers as we work toward a fair deal and will keep you updated on our progress."

Separately, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr 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.

With the start of another football season, a new carriage dispute has arisen.

This time it’s Fox, which has been unable to renew a new content partnership with YouTube TV. In an email sent to subscribers on Monday, the virtual multichannel video programming distributor (vMVPD) said: “[I]f we are unable to reach an agreement with Fox by 5 PM ET on August 27, 2025, their content may become unavailable. If this happens, this will impact channels like the Fox Broadcast Network, Fox News, and Fox Sports, as well as any Library recordings you have from these channels.”

YouTube said it hopes to reach a mutual agreement “without passing on additional costs to our subscribers.” It also said it will give a $10 credit to subscribers if Fox’s content becomes unavailable “for an extended period of time.”

Fox has launched a “keepfox.com” website designed to keep viewers updated and issued the following statement:

“While Fox remains committed to reaching a fair agreement with Google’s YouTube TV, we are disappointed that Google continually exploits its outsized influence by proposing terms that are out of step with the marketplace,“ Fox said. ”We are alerting FOX viewers who are YouTube TV subscribers that they could lose access to much of their favorite news, sports, entertainment and local station programming unless Google engages in a meaningful way soon.”

As the costs of sports rights continue to soar, the networks are using the popularity of football as a cudgel against pay-TV providers who are also losing viewers to cord-cutting. TV carriage disputes have become fairly common during the late summer, early fall time period, during the beginning of the NFL and college football seasons; in 2023, Charter Communications and Dish settled their disputes with Disney at the beginning of the season; Nexstar Media Group and Verizon Communications had a similar conflict in 2022.

As of the beginning of 2025, YouTube TV was estimated to have 9.4 million subscribers, making it the fourth-largest U.S. pay-TV provider after Charter, Comcast and DirecTV. ‌

WASHINGTON—Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr has written the vMVPD YouTube TV saying that “concerns have been raised that your company has a policy (secret or otherwise) that discriminates against faith-based programming.”

In the letter Carr raised the issue in the context of an ongoing debate over whether vMPVDs like YouTube TV should be classified as pay TV operators, a move that would impose additional regulations on them.

To help with his consideration of those issues, Carr asked that the vMVPD “brief FCC staff on the rule of virtual MVPDs in the modern media marketplace and YouTube TV’s carriage negotiations process, including the potential role of viewpoint-based discrimination.”

Carr noted that the concerns about discrimination came from Great American Media. It “wrote a letter to me in which they claim that YouTube TV deliberately marginalizes faith-based and family-friendly content," Carr wrote. "Great American Media states that its Great American Family network is the second fastest-growth channel in cable television."

Their complaint alleged that even though “they are carried on a range of cable and streaming services, including Comcast, Cox, Hulu, FuboTV and DirecTV Stream, YouTube TV refuses to carry them," Carr wrote.

“Importantly, these allegations of faith-based discrimination come at a time when American public discourse has experienced an unprecedented surge in censorship” Carr wrote. That, he added, prompted him to write “to determine whether YouTube TV has a policy or practice that favors discrimination against faith-based channels.”

The letter was sent on March 7, 2025 to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, the owner of YouTube TV and Neal Mohan, CEO of Google LLC dba YouTube.

In what appears to be an emerging pattern at the FCC, the letter was made public on X rather than being posted on the agency’s website.

A dispute between Paramount and Youtube TV that would have pulled CBS stations and Paramount’s cable channels from the streaming service has been temporarily put on hold as both sides announced a short-term solution just hours before the channels would have disappeared from Youtube TV.

After warning that Paramount’s cable channels and CBS affiliates would be pulled from Youtube TV by Thursday night at 11 p.m. ET, both companies went on the offensive, with Youtube TV running banners on Paramount’s channels, urging subscribers to contact their local TV stations to voice their opposition to Paramount’s threats, while Paramount activated its website that it uses during such disputes (keepparamount.com) to urge its viewers to register their protests to Youtube TV.

Several hours before the deadline, both companies announced that they had reached a temporary truce and the channels would stay.

“We’ve reached a short-term extension with Paramount to keep their content on YouTube TV,” Youtube TV announced on its Twitter account. “Subscribers continue to have access to Paramount channels, including CBS. We appreciate your patience as we continue to negotiate on your behalf.”

A carriage dispute between YouTube TV and Paramount could come to a head today (Feb. 13), with the virtual pay TV provider threatening to pull all of the programmer’s channels—including local CBS stations.

On Wednesday, virtual multichannel video programming distributor YouTube TV said in a blog post that despite what it called “good faith” negotiations with Paramount, two sides had not yet reached a carriage deal.

Overnight, YouTube TV sent a notice to subscribers, warning of the potential action.

“With YouTube TV, our goal is to offer you the content you love, delivered the way you want it,” the company said. “To make this happen, we enter into agreements with network partners to make their content available on YouTube TV. As such, we’ve been negotiating with Paramount to reach a fair agreement that allows us to keep their channels, including CBS, on YouTube TV without compromising the value of our service. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we’ve been unable to reach an agreement.

“On February 13, 2025, all Paramount channels will likely become unavailable on YouTube TV,” the statement continued. “If this happens, this will impact previous Library recordings from these channels, Paramount content in the Entertainment Plus package, and add-on services like Paramount+ with Showtime and BET+. Should Paramount content become unavailable, we will continue to update our Help Center with the latest.”

YouTube TV offered some respite to subscribers, promising refunds if the channels are pulled.

“It’s our goal to restore Paramount content to YouTube TV, but if we do not come to an agreement and their content is unavailable for an extended period of time, we'll offer our YouTube TV subscribers an $8 credit,“ YouTube TV said. “You can still watch Paramount shows and movies by signing up for their streaming service, Paramount+, starting at $7.99/month.”

Paramount’s cable channels include BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, CBS Sports Network, Paramount Network, CMT, Nick Jr., Smithsonian Channel, TV Land and VH1.

All CBS local affiliates could be dropped, as well as another 10 other stations that are part of the CBS News and Stations division, including:

• Atlanta (WUPA)
• Boston (WSBK)
• Dallas-Fort Worth (KTXA)
• New York (WLNY)
• Philadelphia (WPSG)
• Pittsburgh (WPCW)
• Sacramento (KMAX)
• San Francisco (KPYX)
• Seattle (KSTW)
• Tampa Bay (WTOG)

Paramount said negotiations have been unfair.

“YouTube TV is attempting to pressure Paramount to agree to one-sided terms, and these nonmarket demands may lead to an avoidable loss of Paramount’s networks on YouTube TV, in addition to the removal of Paramount+ and BET+ from YouTube’s Primetime Channels, on February 13,” a Paramount spokesperson said.

Paramount has launched a website (keepparamount.com) to keep subscribers informed.

Paramount is amid a merger with movie studio Skydance, an $8 billion deal announced last summer. YouTube TV, which launched in 2017 with a monthly subscription of $35, has since more than doubled its fee, currently at $83 per month.

Google has announced another rate increase for its YouTube TV service, effective Jan. 13, 2025. In its sixth such hike, the service will now cost subscribers $82.99, a $10 increase since the last jump in 2023.

The service, which launched in 2017 for $35 per month, is now the most expensive virtual MVPD in the U.S., surpassing Hulu Live+, which goes for $75.99 per month; DirecTV, whose streaming platform starts at $74.99 per month; and Sling TV, at $40 monthly.

YouTube TV’s monthly subscription is now 137% higher than its initial monthly rate. It cited higher content costs and investments as reasons for the increase.

“To keep up with the rising cost of content and the investments we make in the quality of our service, we’re updating our monthly price from $72.99/month to $82.99/month starting January 13, 2025,” the company told subscribers in an email today. “We don’t make these decisions lightly, and we realize this has an impact on our members. We are committed to bringing you features that are changing the way we watch live TV, like unlimited DVR storage and multiview, and supporting YouTube TV’s breadth of content and vast on-demand library of movies and shows.”

‌“We hope YouTube TV continues to be your service of choice, but we understand that some of our members may want to cancel their subscriptions,“ the email continued. “As always, family managers have the ability to pause or cancel anytime.”

TROY, Mich.—The highly anticipated annual J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Television Service Provider Satisfaction Study indicates that once again vMVPDs, which J.D. Power calls “Live TV streamers,” had a much higher satisfaction rate than traditional cable and satellite services. 

The newly redesigned survey found that live TV streamers is 625 (on a 1,000-point scale) compared with 524 among cable and satellite customers.

The biggest gap in satisfaction between live TV streaming and cable and satellite—140 points—is heavily based on costs, the researchers said. The survey found that the reported monthly average cost for live TV streaming is $75, while cable and satellite is $120.

YouTube TV ranked highest in the live TV streaming segment for a second consecutive year, with a score of 651. Hulu + Live TV (635) ranked second.

Spectrum ranked highest in the cable/satellite TV–national segment with a score of 530. Xfinity (529) ranked second.

“It is clear that price has been a main driver in satisfaction, however, satisfaction for streaming is higher than cable and satellite customers across all seven dimensions of the study,” said Carl Lepper, senior director of technology, media and telecom intelligence at J.D. Power. “Live streaming has reorganized the industry and as it continues, cable and satellite providers have been working hard to remain competitive, including exploring new revenue models to compete with the cost pressure.”

In terms of different regions, Verizon Fios ranked highest in the cable/satellite TV–east region for a third consecutive year, with a score of 570. DirecTV (520) ranked second.

Xfinity ranked highest in the cable/satellite TV–north central region with a score of 528. Spectrum (516) ranked second.

Xfinity ranked highest in the cable/satellite TV–south region with a score of 570. Cox Communications (547) ranked second and Spectrum (545) ranked third.

Spectrum ranked highest in the cable/satellite TV–west region with a score of 534. Xfinity (517) ranked second and Dish (516) ranked third.

The J.D. Power U.S. Television Service Provider Satisfaction StudySM is designed to provide a detailed assessment of customer perceptions of service with their current television provider. The study measures Overall Satisfaction with television service providers based on seven dimensions: value for price paid; consistently delivering high-quality service; level of trust with provider; ease of doing business; people; digital tools; and resolving problems or complaints. To be included in the national cable/satellite TV ranking, brands must be ranked in all four geographic regions. The study is based on responses from 32,349 customers and was fielded from October 2023 through August 2024.

For more information about the U.S. Television Service Provider Satisfaction Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/tmt/us-residential-television-customer-satisfaction-study. 

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—Sling TV has announced that it will begin offering its first 4K streams of sporting events and that the first 4K stream will be the July 16, 2024 Fox Sports’ broadcast of the MLB All-Star Game. 

The move will allow Sling TV subscribers, in certain markets, to enjoy live events in stunning 4K resolution, on supporting Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices.

“At Sling TV, we’re all about delivering the ultimate gameday experience,” said Seth Van Sickel, senior vice president, product & operations, Sling Video Services. “With live sports now in 4K, we’re upping our game and giving fans front-row seats to every thrilling moment. Get ready to see your favorite sports like never before, with crystal-clear action that brings you right into the heart of the play!”

Competitor Fubo TV has been offering 4K streams on some sports events since 2019.; YouTube TV launched 4K in 2021. 

Sling TV reported that it will continue to offer a lineup of top and most-watched sports available in 4K for no additional cost, including NBCUniversal’s 24/7 coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics on USA Network and college and pro football games on FS1, ESPN and more.

For more information and additional 4K details visit sling.com/4k. 

YouTube has released a host of new metrics about its services, including the fact that YouTube TV now has more than 8 million subscribers, making the vMVPD the fourth largest pay TV operator in the U.S. 

The sub numbers were released in YouTube CEO Neal Mohan’s annual letter, which also reported that the YouTube Partner Program has paid more than $70 billion to creators, artists, and media companies between 2020-2023 and that more than 1 billion hours of YouTube is viewed on TVs each day. According to Nielsen's report on streaming in the U.S., YouTube was the leader in streaming watch-time for the past 11 months.

Mohan also wrote that Shorts is averaging over 70 billion daily views, and the number of channels uploading Shorts has grown 50% year over year.

"Since the very first upload, YouTube has opened up a new way to tell stories,” he wrote. “Suddenly anyone with a story could find an audience. And they did just that. People filmed in their kitchens, their bedrooms, and even their backyards. Along the way, they built communities that stretched across the globe. 

“YouTube took this creativity one step further by making a big bet: we decided to share revenue with creators,” he added. “Since then, the growth of the creator economy has been incredible. More people created content on YouTube last year than ever before. And we’ve hit a new milestone. Today more than 3 million channels are in the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), which gives creators ways to earn money on YouTube. YPP has paid out more than any other creator monetization platform, and we paid over $70 billion to creators, artists, and media companies over the last three years.” 

In the letter, he also argued that “generative AI is driving another evolution that raises critical questions about how we express creativity,” and said that using AI to “empower human creativity” will be their #1 priority in 2024. 

“We want to help everyone create,” he said. “AI should empower human creativity, not replace it. And everyone should have access to AI tools that will push the boundaries of creative expression. We recently announced new AI experiments that demonstrate this drive to innovate. Dream Screen is scaling creativity by giving anyone the ability to make AI-generated backgrounds for YouTube Shorts. It lets you create anything you can imagine by just typing in an idea, like a popcorn volcano or a disco forest. And through our Music AI Incubator, we’re hearing feedback from artists about the ways AI can supercharge their creative process. Last year, we shared Dream Track, one of the first experiments as we explore the possibilities of AI in music in collaboration with partners across the industry. See how it’s going so far.”

The streamers #2 priority is that “creators should be recognized as next-generation studios,” Mohan wrote. 

Its third top priority is “the living room and subscriptions,” Mohan said. 

“When I started at YouTube, people thought about content from major studios and content from creators as entirely different, but today that stark divide is gone,” he noted. “Viewers want everything in one place, from a live sports game to the BBC to Khan Academy and NikkieTutorials. And they’re watching YouTube the way we used to sit down together for traditional TV shows – on the biggest screen in the home with friends and family.”

In addition to the 8 million subs at YouTube TV, Mohan also said that “we passed 100 million Music and Premium subscribers, including trials.” 

For its fourth priority, Mohan wrote that “Protecting the creator economy is foundational.”

“As we work across all of these priorities, our number one commitment is to responsibly protect the YouTube community,” he noted.

After reiterating their commitment to providing a healthy online experience for kids, he also touched on worries that social media platforms will once again be a source of mis-information and propaganda during this year’s elections in more than 50 countries around the world. 

“We’re ensuring that when people look for election news on YouTube, authoritative sources are prominent in their searches and recommendations,” he wrote. “We spent years investing in a playbook to responsibly manage content on YouTube including longstanding, rigorously enforced policies against hate speech, incitement to violence, election interference, and more. We quickly evolve and adapt when new challenges emerge, and we’ll do so again as generative AI makes more sophisticated deepfakes possible and raises new questions. Not only do all of our existing policies apply to synthetically generated content, we’ll also add new layers of transparency and protections. For example, in the coming months, we’ll introduce labels that inform viewers when the realistic content they’re seeing is synthetic.”

A long-treasured TV watching feature may finally be coming to YouTube TV.

The ability to quickly toggle between a current channel and previous channel watched has been a popular feature offered via cable and satellite TV services through customized remote controls. Now YouTube TV is testing such a feature. 

According to the website 9to5Google, some YouTube TV subscribers report a new button shortcut on the YTTV interface that allows viewers to toggle between current and last viewed channels by simply pressing the “OK” or “Select” buttons for an extended period of time. 

Only subscribers to Apple TV and Google TV can currently see this pop-up hint on the screen but it’s anticipated that the feature will be widely deployed after its current beta. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Preserve Viewer Choice Coalition has announced that two new members have joined its ranks: Hulu and YouTube TV.

The coalition is opposing efforts by broadcasters to get the FCC to change rules on how vMVPDs are classified by arguing that the proposed changes would restrict consumer streaming choices and hurt the online video market.

"Having Hulu and YouTube TV on board amplifies our message and reinforces our commitment to ensuring that consumers continue to enjoy a wealth of choices in the streaming era," said Bryce Harlow, spokesperson for the Preserve Viewer Choice Coalition. "Their decision to join us is a testament to the momentum we're building and the shared belief in the importance of a competitive streaming market devoid of burdensome regulations."

The Preserve Viewer Choice Coalition was formed in response to calls to revisit proposed FCC rule changes regarding vMVPDs. Broadcast station groups would like to see the FCC reclassify vMVPDs as traditional cable and pay TV operators, which would change the way retransmission consent fees are negotiated. Currently the companies who own the broadcast network negotiate those fees with vMVPDs, not the station owners, who directly handle negotiations with traditional cable operators. Broadcast station groups have launched The Coalition for Local News Advocacy to lobby for changes in the rule. 

Station groups argue this change would allow them to negotiate higher fees while the Preserve Viewer Choice Coalition argues that this could force online video providers and streaming platforms to negotiate for content they don't own, potentially hindering innovation and driving up costs for consumers. 

The coalition also argues that changing the rules would significantly impact the online video market, which has provided consumers with unprecedented access to diverse content, from news and entertainment to sports. 

After successfully rolling out its NFL Sunday Ticket two months ago with nary a technical hiccup, for the first time on Sunday, YouTube TV had to apologize to subscribers for technical issues preventing them from following their favorite teams. 

Issues of pixelation and buffering—the bane of live streaming—during the first slate of games Sunday afternoon were enough to send viewers to social media to complain about technical problems. YouTube tweeted in response: 

Eventually YouTube referred subscribers to the NFL app, where viewers—who are shelling out $349 for an annual subscription—could authenticate via their YouTube TV subscription.

YouTube’s apology prompted a number of Twitter/X users to inquire about refunds but it’s undetermined whether the streamer has any plans to reimburse fans. 

One viewer complained that the quality wasn’t much better than an illegal stream:

One sports pundit noted that Amazon, which has been live streaming Thursday Night Football seems to have avoided such issues:

When it inked its multiyear, reportedly $2 billion deal to acquire the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket nearly a year ago, tech experts questioned whether Google had the technical bandwidth to handle the millions of viewers that would simultaneously be watching YouTube TV on Sunday afternoons, however until now, there had been very few issues reported. 

NEW YORK—A panel of the National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the appellate advertising body of BBB National Programs for industry self regulation, recommended that Google, LLC discontinue the claim that its YouTube TV service is “$600 less than cable.”

The advertising had been challenged by Charter Communications, Inc. in a National Advertising Division’s (NAD) Fast-Track SWIFT challenge. Following NAD’s decision (Case No. 7233), Google appealed NAD’s recommendation to discontinue the challenged advertising claim.

In explaining its ruling the NARB noted that the challenged “$600 less than cable” claim, was accompanied by a disclosure identifying “comparable standalone cable” as the basis of comparison. The price calculation underlying the challenged claim included the cost of two set-top boxes per household for “standalone cable” services.

The NARB panel determined that the commercial disclosures were not clear and conspicuous.

Further, in agreement with NAD, the NARB panel concluded that at least one reasonable interpretation of the challenged claim is that YouTube TV is $600 less than any comparable service available from companies traditionally associated with cable services. 

The NARB ruled that this comparison does not align with the challenged claim because many households can subscribe to basic Spectrum service without renting cable boxes. Also, in certain markets, cable providers offer regional sports networks (RSNs) but YouTube does not, therefore Google did not have a valid reason for adding the cost of Spectrum’s Sports View option to the price comparison.

For these reasons, the NARB panel adopted NAD’s recommendation that Google discontinue the claim that its YouTube TV service is “$600 less than cable.”

Google stated that it “disagrees with NARB’s determination that people watching the challenged commercials will somehow understand ‘cable’ to mean something other than traditional cable television,” however it “intends to modify or cease the disputed advertising claim.” Google further stated that, at a later date it “may reconsider the claim based on updated information.”

The National Advertising Review Board (NARB) is the appellate body for BBB National Programs’ advertising self-regulatory programs. NARB’s panel members include 85 volunteer professionals from the national advertising industry, agencies, and public members, such as academics and former members of the public sector.

Despite dire predictions that its streaming capabilities would be strained by the massive numbers of viewers watching the first Sunday broadcasts of the 2023-2024 NFL season, it appears that YouTube TV’s launch of its NFL Sunday Ticket went off with minimal glitches. 

Sunday provided the ultimate test for Google’s YouTube TV with millions of fans tuning into the popular service, which offers all NFL games for $500 per season per subscriber (with a variety of discounts). Google inked the $14 billion deal late last year to carry the subscription on its YouTube TV; the service had been exclusive to DirecTV for nearly 30 years. 

Although Google has not released subscription numbers for NFL Sunday Ticket, DirectTV had an estimated 2 million subscribers for the service before losing it to Google. 

Fans were skeptical that YouTube’s streaming service would be up to the task of replicating the technology enabled by DirecTV’s satellite service that allowed the provider to broadcast NFL games with minimal latency. For several years, since the Super Bowl began being streamed, reports indicated that viewers watching the big game on a traditional pay TV service or antenna were catching the action up to a minute earlier than those watching online.

(Read more: Low Latency Distribution: What Does It Mean to Video Streamers?)

CNBC was among those wringing their hands over the prospect of higher than normal delays. “As thousands of football fans fill stadiums across America to see the first Sunday of NFL action, millions more will watch at home and at bars—as much as one minute later,” the network predicted last week.

CNBC based much of its expectations on previous Super Bowl reports as well as experts who noted that due to the technical differences between the efficiency of satellite or broadcast technology—and the “one to one” aspect of streaming—online viewers could end up finding out about a touchdown as much as a minute after the broadcast. Echoing tech experts it interviewed for its report, CNBC said  “the delay ‘Sunday Ticket’ subscribers will face on Sunday can’t be helped and is just the reality of current technology.”

But Google defended its technology, citing the worldwide popularity of its YouTube service. “Overall, YouTube TV is built on the infrastructure that powers YouTube, and reliably serves billions of playback every day, the company told NBC News. “The YouTube TV team is working on building a high-quality Sunday Ticket experience.”

Although there were some issues with YouTube TV's multiview feature, in the end, the handwringing was the most part, all for naught, since technical issues didn’t become the headlines many had feared.

“Wow, Sunday Ticket on YouTube is amazing,” one user wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), Yahoo News reports. “On my phone, the broadcast delay is only 10 seconds… behind AN ANTENNA.” 

“Top notch work moving NFL Sunday Ticket over,” wrote another fan on X. “Truly… No hassles AT ALL. Logging in has been easy, no delays, no weird ‘verify your current playback area’ messages.”

Shortly after games began on the east coast on Sunday, Matt Infante, chief operating officer of media company Pro Football Network tweeted that “NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube not showing the kind of delay that many feared. So far.”

Streaming expert Dan Rayburn praised Google for its first weekend performance, describing the outcome as a “touchdown” for YouTube, but warning that the company isn’t out of the woods.

“I’m rooting for the Google and YouTube TV teams to have great execution every week throughout the year,” he wrote on his Streaming Media Blog. “If they can keep any technical issues to a minimum, and short-lived, plus provide accurate and timely support, it helps the entire streaming industry. If YouTube TV has any widespread problems with streaming the NFL Sunday Ticket, the backlash from many will be that streaming is not ready for primetime and can’t be used as a replacement to broadcast TV distribution and that would hurt the entire industry.”

And while YouTube TV appeared to escape unscathed from its first test, it's a mixed bag for traditional TV with  ESPN, ABC and more than  20 other Disney channels having been pulled from Charter's Spectrum TV service; more than 200 network affiliates owned or managed by Nexstar Media Group blacked out on DirecTV and a new impasse occurring late last week when Dish TV removed subscribers' access to 37 local Hearst channels in 27 markets in a third  carriage dispute. 

YouTube is launching monthly payment plans for its NFL Sunday Ticket package that lets viewers watch all out of market games.  Previously, viewers had to pay for the full season in one payment. 

The monthly plans have some important caveats, however. YouTube said that the monthly plans are not available in Georgia, New York, Minnesota, Nevada, Missouri, Tennessee and New Jersey. Fans in those states will have to pay the full price all at once. 

Like subscribers who pay the full price all at once, those with a monthly subscription can not cancel mid-season and get a refund for remaining term. Monthly subscribers also have to commit to paying for all the months. 

There are several options for the monthly payment plans. YouTube TV subscribers can get NFL Sunday Ticket for $299 paid out in four installments of $74.75; adding NFL RedZone brings the total for YouTube TV subs to $339 or four payments of $84.75. 

For those who don’t have a YouTube TV subscription, NFL Sunday Ticket on Primetime Channels costs $399 or four payments of $99.75.

YouTube also said it would begin offering student plans but did not provide details on pricing.  

In a blog post, YouTube announced enhancements to the multiview experience so that all viewers, regardless of their TV device, are able to enjoy the feature. During this upcoming NFL season, NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers will be able to choose from an extensive assortment of multiview combinations every Sunday afternoon the company said. 

For those who signed up for the NFL Sunday Ticket + NFL RedZone package, your multiview options will include both out-of-market games and RedZone, whether the subscriber is watching from YouTube or YouTube TV.

On YouTube TV, multiview combinations will also include local NFL games side-by-side with NFL Sunday Ticket games. 

In addition, the service will be offering live chat and polls to engage fans on both their mobile and TV devices and will soon be adding other features such as NFL Shop integrations to complement the viewing experience.

Another improvement is the launch on YouTube of the popular key plays feature, which is already on YouTube TV. With key plays, viewers will either be able to catch up on a game they missed or watch a quick snippet of each major play before jumping into the live game. Key plays for YouTube will only be available on TVs this season, YouTube said. 

Finally, YouTube said that starting this season, real-time highlights from every single NFL game will be available in the YouTube Shorts player, right as the action is happening. Highlights that appear in viewers’ Shorts feeds on Sunday afternoon will include a red “Live” ring around the NFL channel avatar. Clicking on the ring directs viewers seamlessly to the Live tab on the NFL channel, where subscribers can easily select which NFL Sunday Ticket game they want to watch on YouTube.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—WOW! Internet, TV & Phone has announced that it has rolled out YouTube TV across its entire footprint, making it available to all customers. 

Earlier this year, WOW! signed an agreement with Google to offer YouTube TV as its live television offering and said it would bundle WOW!'s broadband service with the vMVPD streaming service..

The agreement also includes special promotional offers to purchase YouTube TV and add-on content services, including Spanish-language packages and NFL Sunday Ticket, as well as a variety of interactive features such as the ability to catch up with key plays, multiview, check out real-time stats, and more.

"By bundling YouTube TV with WOW! Internet, we continue to execute on our broadband-first strategy and further uphold our commitment to deliver an exceptional WOW! experience for new and current customers," said Teresa Elder, CEO at WOW!. "We pride ourselves in offering the best products at the best value and we believe this will be a game-changer for our customers looking for a robust TV experience at a much lower cost than traditional cable."

WOW!’s network passes nearly 2 million residential, business and wholesale consumers and provides services in 15 markets, primarily in the Midwest and Southeast, including Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, including the new all-fiber network in Central Florida. 

Frontier has announced that it is expanding its alliance with YouTube TV to offer discounts on YouTube TV’s NFL Sunday Ticket package. 

The Sunday Ticket provides viewers with access to every out-of-market Sunday afternoon game. 

The discounts build on an longstanding alliance between the telco and YouTube TV and offers another example of how telcos and cable operators are turning to vMVPDs to provide video services on their platform. 

In 2021, Frontier announced a partnership with YouTube TV to offer the service to its customers and in March they expanded the relationship by providing a single billing option for broadband and live TV.

Starting August 2, Frontier internet customers who are subscribed to YouTube TV and sign up for NFL Sunday Ticket can save $100 through August 21. 

Also, new subscribers to both Frontier + YouTube TV can get $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket through August 21, the telco said. 

“Our customers now get more of the content they love, bigger savings, and the best internet product available,” said John Harrobin, executive vice president of consumer at Frontier in a blog post. “That’s a touchdown for the un-cable provider.”

As YouTube TV’s profile as the most popular virtual multichannel program distributor in the U.S. rises, so do concerns from sports fans about the service’s ability to handle high-profile live sporting events. 

Such concerns came to a head May 17 when the streams “froze” for many users near the end of the Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics game, the first matchup of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on TNT. The same glitch occurred the following night between the Nuggets-Lakers game, albeit not affecting as many viewers, according to news reports. 

The problems were not restricted just to YouTube TV however, some fans reported the same problems with Sling TV as well over the weekend. However, with the launch of YouTube TV’s upcoming NFL Sunday Ticket package coming up this fall, the pressure is on the service to fix whatever issues caused the glitches in the first place. 

The company attributed the issue to  “elevated rebuffing rates” which resulted in viewers seeing an endless loop of a promotion for the upcoming Disney flick “The Little Mermaid.” A YouTube TV engineer posted a short comment on a Reddit board last week saying they were aware of the ads buffering/freezing issue and were working on a fix. 

Some speculated that the glitch was the result of a feature that would prevent viewers from fast forwarding through the promotion, however, the problem wasn’t isolated to the TNT channel; other channels on YTTV also suffered the same issue. Still others think the problem was a result of TNT's use of digital ad insertion during commercial breaks. 

No problems issues were reported during this past weekend NBA games.

Buffering issues have long been a concern among vMVPD providers such as Hulu+ and Sling TV. However, many pundits warned that YouTube TV may be taking on more than it can handle when it rolls out its NFL package this fall—with NFL games comprising more than 80% of TV’s 100 highest rated programming, bandwidth problems could damage its reputation as the most popular service of its type. 

NFL games shown on Amazon Prime over the past two seasons have also suffered from quality issues as well, according to digital trends. And with last week’s announcement that Peacock would broadcast the first ever NFL playoff game next season—when viewership will skyrocket past the already massive regular season numbers—the pressure is on to resolve such issues before the fall. 

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—In a notable example of how broadband providers are moving away from video, WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone has inked a deal with Google to offer YouTube TV as its dedicated live television offering and announced plans to migrate its existing video customers to the virtual MVPD. 

The process of migrating WOW!'s residential video customers to YouTube TV will begin this summer as WOW! discontinues the marketing and selling of its TV services, including WOW! tv+, and sells YouTube TV across its footprint. 

WOW! will maintain and support its current video services as its existing base of video customers can switch from WOW!'s current video products to YouTube TV, the operator said. 

"We are thrilled to begin offering YouTube TV and give our customers access to this best-in-class pay TV service. We are very pleased to deliver a seamless TV experience to our customers with this new partnership while continuing to execute on our broadband-first strategy," said Teresa Elder, CEO at WOW!. "This furthers our commitment to provide our customers with the highest quality services at the best value."

It also promised as yet unspecified promotions to entice customers to make the change and said it would bundle its broadband services with YouTube TV in one bill. 

WOW! stopped marketing its video services in June of 2020 and ended Q1 2023 with only 117,100 video subs, down from 178,100 video subs in Q1 2021. 

BALTIMORE—Sinclair Broadcast Group has announced a distribution agreement with YouTube TV to add carriage of Sinclair Tennis Channel and T2, plus diginets CHARGE! and TBD to YouTube TV’s service offerings. The agreement also extends YouTube TV’s existing carriage of Sinclair’s CBS and MyNetworkTV affiliated television broadcast stations. 

Tennis Channel, and T2, Tennis Channel’s first free ad-supported TV (FAST) channel, are scheduled to debut June 1, to coincide with Roland-Garros (the French Open). Sinclair’s multicast networks CHARGE!, and TBD are also scheduled to launch on YouTube TV June 1st. Additionally, the agreement renews carriage of Comet, bringing all three of Sinclair’s diginets to YouTube TV’s lineup.

“We are pleased to reach an agreement that brings Tennis Channel, T2 and all three of our  Emerging Networks to YouTube TV, a valued partner of ours,” said Will Bell, SVP, Head of Distribution & Network Relations for Sinclair. “As the media landscape continues to evolve, our goal remains the same – to bring our unrivaled content to people wherever they want to experience it. With Roland-Garros kicking-off May 28, the timing is perfect for YouTube TV customers.”

Financial terms of the agreement were not released.

SAN BRUNO, Calif.—YouTube TV has launched sales of the NFL Sunday Ticket with regular pricing set at $349 for YouTube TV subs. It is also offering a $100 discount for viewers who sign up for it before June 6. 

In addition, for the first time, NFL Sunday Ticket will also be broadly available without a satellite subscription through YouTube Primetime Channels for the regular price of $449 or $349 if purchased before June 6. 

YouTube paid about $2 billion a year for seven years for the rights to sell Sunday Ticket, which provides all the out of market games. 

Given the cost of the deal, it was widely expected that YouTube TV would increase the cost of the package.  

DirecTV had been charging about $300 a year for the package. So YouTube TV subs with the base plan will be able to buy the package less than DirecTV charged if they sign up for the early bird discount, which reduces its price to $249. But it will be significantly more expensive ($349) for those who wait until after June 6. 

For YouTube TV subs, the vMVPD is also offering a bundle option with NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone for a total of $289 for the season during the presale, another launch offer of $100 off the retail price of $389 for the season. 

YouTube Noted that fans who sign up for NFL Sunday Ticket with the YouTube TV Base Plan will have access to not only 100+ live channels, but also every Sunday game, including local, national, and out-of-market games.

On Primetime Channels for viewers who don't have a YouTube TV subscription, NFL Sunday Ticket is available during the presale at $349 for the season, a special launch offer savings of $100 off the retail price of $449 for the season. The bundled NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL Redzone option is available during the presale at $389 for the season, another launch offer of $100 off the retail price of $489 for the season.

The pre-sale runs through June 6. 

NORWALK, Conn.—In another example of how telcos and cable operators are working to attract cord-cutters by bunding streaming services with their broadband offerings, Frontier has announced a new partnership with YouTube TV that will bundle the vMVPD’s streaming service with the telco’s fiber broadband offering in a single bill. 

In 2021, Frontier announced a partnership with YouTube TV to give customers the performance of a fiber internet connection and the content of a live TV service. This announcement builds on that by introducing a single billing option.

Frontier internet subs will get $10 a month off of YouTube TV for the first 12 months. 

As more consumers abandoned traditional pay TV packages, cable operators and telcos have increasingly embraced bundles of broadband and streaming services or triple play bundles of broadband, streaming TV and mobile. 

Comcast, for example offers a free package of streaming channels with its broadband services that can be upgraded subscription streaming TV packages and Charter offers cord cutters a service where they can package their broadband service with the local broadcast stations as well as 10 channels of their choosing. The two operators also have a joint venture Xumo where they are developing their own Ruku-like streaming platform. 

The Frontier deal is notable in that it is an early example of a telco partnering with an outside vMVPD to offer a bundled deal for TV and broadband rather than cutting deals directly with programmers to develop an exclusive pay TV package.  

“Our partnership with YouTube TV makes it easier for customers to ditch cable,” said John Harrobin, Frontier’s executive vice president of Consumer. “We take our position as the un-cable provider seriously and are constantly listening to consumers. Many want one source for internet and TV, and that’s what this partnership is all about. With Frontier and YouTube TV, there’s no settling for anything but the best.”

“Frontier is a natural partner for YouTube TV, due to our shared dedication to customer choice and flexibility,” said Tony Archibong, managing director of global product partnerships at YouTube. “With this next stage of our partnership, Frontier customers will be able to sign up and enjoy all the perks of YouTube TV such as unlimited DVR, the ability to watch on any screen, innovative features such as key plays and multiview, special pricing offers for NFL Sunday Ticket and the option to cancel the service at any time, all on the same bill as their Frontier internet.”

YouTube TV has sent emails to subscribers telling them to expect a $8 price hike in the monthly subscription fees they pay for YouTube TV's Base Plan.  

“After nearly 3 years, we’re adjusting our monthly price from $64.99/month to $72.99/month,” the company said. “As content costs have risen and we continue to invest in the quality of our service, we are updating our price to keep bringing you the best possible service.”

The YouTube TV Base Plan membership price will change in the first billing cycle on or after April 18, 2023, the company explained. 

If the subscriber is on a “Base Plan promotional price or a trial, that promotion is still honored and unchanged,” the company said. 

Although YouTube TV recently forked over $2 billion a year for rights to Sunday Ticket, it isn’t clear what, if any impact that had on the price increase given the fact that the Sunday Ticket package will be sold separately to consumers for an additional subscription fee. 

YouTube has a history of making big price hikes when it does increase prices. Its last increase in 2020 was from $50 to $64.99. 

Other prices for the service are however falling. “We will also be lowering the price of our 4K Plus add-on from $19.99/month to $9.99/month,” the company said. “Users new to 4K Plus are eligible for a $4.99/month for 12 months promotional offer. For existing users, if you are on a promotional price below $10/month, you’ll enjoy that price until the promotional period is over, at which point you’ll automatically receive the new price of $9.99/month. If you’re currently paying above $9.99/month, your new price will be $9.99/month.”

YouTube TV has introduced its highly anticipated multiview feature that will allow its subscribers to view up to four program streams simultaneously. Multiview will only be available for a limited number of subscribers on the first day of the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament and is designed to help the streamer garner viewer feedback in anticipation of a full-scale rollout when YouTube TV's "NFL Sunday Ticket" service launches in the fall. 

In a blog post, the company said subscribers could pick up to four pre-selected streams at once in their “Top Picks for You” section. After selecting multiview, viewers can switch audio and captions between streams, and toggle back and forth out of a fullscreen view of a game. 

“Multiview joins our suite of features for sports fans and we’re looking forward to continuing to improve the experience and introducing it to all YouTube TV subscribers over the next several months,” the company said.

In December, NFL and Google inked a multiyear deal reportedly valued at $2 billion a year to move "NFL Sunday Ticket," which had been a staple of DirecTV since it launched in 1994, to YouTube TV starting with the 2023-2024 NFL season. 

NFL Sunday Ticket will be available on two of YouTube’s businesses as an add-on package on YouTube TV and standalone a-la-carte on YouTube Primetime Channels. No details on pricing are yet available. NFL Sunday Ticket offers all out-of-market Sunday regular-season NFL games (based on viewer's location) broadcast on Fox and CBS. 

In a Q&A on the blog post, German Cheung, the engineering lead for the YouTube TV core experience team, talked about how the company developed the technology to ensure that home viewers would not need any extra gear for a feature that involves higher processing and bandwidth than the typical unicast.

The streamer used existing technology it had already developed for a feature called “Go Live Together” that allows for content creators to collaborate in real time. “Instead of building something totally new from scratch, we could use what the Live team had already created and make adjustments from there for the YouTube TV platform and bring the feature to market faster,” Cheung said. 

It also borrowed from YouTube’s content ID system that monitors YouTube videos and matches it with content uploaded by copyright owners. “Our teams found that we could use the same technology to make our recommendations even better by using what had already been built to make sure we don’t recommend the same, or similar, videos to a viewer,” he said.

As for now, the menu available to the limited number of subscribers will be pre-selected by YouTube TV but that’s expected to change as the service rolls out to a wider audience, Cheung added. 

“Over time, we’ll refine and add more functionality to multiview, including the option to customize your own multiview streams.”

BURBANK, Calif—As relations between station groups and virtual multichannel video program distributors heat up, one broadcaster has inked a retrans deal that could be an encouraging signal for future negotiations.  

Nexstar, the nation’s largest station owner announced that it has reached a multi-year agreement with YouTube TV that will guarantee that the company’s The CW Network continue to be carried on the vMVPD. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The deal also multiyear carriage of MyNetworkTV, independent stations and Nexstar’s NewsNation cable network.

“We are extremely pleased to have reached agreement to continue carriage of its CW-affiliated stations on YouTube TV, especially as we move forward with our plans to transform The CW with additional sports programming and a new slate of prime-time entertainment shows this Fall,” said Dennis Miller, President of The CW Network.  “YouTube TV is an important partner for our affiliates and us, and we look forward to expanding our relationship and growing our audience via this dynamic platform.

“These agreements with YouTube TV underscore the importance of Nexstar’s national and local content on its platform,” said Tom Carter, Nexstar’s Chief Operating Officer.  “Not only will Nexstar’s 40 CBS-affiliated stations continue being carried on YouTube TV, but for the first time Nexstar’s 59 CW, MyNetworkTV, and independent stations will be carried on the platform, bringing Nexstar’s CBS, The CW Network, and MyNetworkTV content, as well as local news, weather, sports, and other proprietary and syndicated content to YouTube TV subscribers in local markets across the country.  

YouTube TV on Tuesday dropped the MLB Network from its channel lineup. The service, part of the vMVPD’s basic $65 per month tier, was pulled because the network could not agree to terms to renew its carriage agreement with Google. 

The announcement comes as MLB approaches its 2023 season in less than two months, Subscribers will lose access to any DVR content from the MLB Network but baseball fans will still have ESPN, Fox and TBS—also on YouTube TV’s basic tier—to watch their favorite teams.  

“We have been working hard to renew our deal with the MLB Network to continue carrying their content on YouTube TV,” the company told its subscribers in an email. . “However, we have been unable to reach an agreement, and starting today, January 31, 2023, MLB Network content will no longer be available on YouTube TV. We apologize for the news and will continue conversations with the MLB to advocate on your behalf, in the hope of restoring their content on YouTube TV.

MLB Network released the following statement in response: "With Spring Training about to start, we regret that YouTube TV has been unwilling to negotiate a fair carriage agreement. MLB Network has offered terms consistent with what close to 300 other U.S. providers have agreed to for distribution. With the great demand and value for live baseball content, Major League Baseball’s commitment to MLB Network now and in the future is stronger than ever before, and we remain open and committed to reaching an agreement with YouTube TV as soon as possible."

MLB Network plans to air more than 250 live regular season and Spring Training games this year. 

ATLANTA—Scripps Networks has announced that ION, Bounce and Scripps News will launch on YouTube TV as part of its base service offering this week.

The launch is part of a new multi-year distribution agreement between YouTube TV and Scripps Networks, the national television network division of  The E.W. Scripps Company.

As part of the agreement, YouTube TV will also continue its existing carriage of Court TV and has the option to launch Grit, ION Mystery, and Laff in the future.

"We believe our diversified portfolio of networks will help strengthen YouTube TV as a pay tv option for consumers and are excited to be part of their continued growth in the marketplace. We look forward to growing our relationship with YouTube TV and their parent company Google," said Jeffrey Wolf, chief distribution officer, Scripps Networks.

ION features a lineup of popular off-network series, original and holiday movies and more. Bounce features a programming mix of original series and movies, theatrical motion pictures, off network series, specials and events designed for African American audiences. 

Scripps News, formerly Newsy, is the nation's only free 24/7 broadcast news network, serving viewers opinion-free national news from 16 news bureaus across the U.S. 

Court TV is devoted to live gavel-to-gavel coverage, in-depth legal reporting, and expert analysis of the nation's most important and compelling trials.

NEW YORK—After a heated bidding war for NFL Sunday Ticket between major streaming players, the NFL and Google have inked a multiyear deal reportedly valued at $2 billion a year for NFL Sunday Ticket to be offered on YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels.

The deal marks a major shift in sports rights from TV networks and pay TV operations to streaming. The much delayed announcement came after a long bidding war between Amazon, Apple and Google. 

Last summer, the NFL had indicated the rights would likely go to a streaming service.  Apple had originally been seen as the leading contender but dropped out last week. 

As a result of the deal, the rights to all out of market Sunday afternoon NFL games available in the NFL Sunday Ticket package, which had long been monopolized by satellite provider DirecTV, will now be streamed on YouTube TV & YouTube Primetime Channels.

DirecTV had been paying about $1.5 billion a year for rights to the package. Its contract is ending this season.

"We’re excited to bring NFL Sunday Ticket to YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels and usher in a new era of how fans across the United States watch and follow the NFL," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. "For a number of years we have been focused on increased digital distribution of our games and this partnership is yet another example of us looking towards the future and building the next generation of NFL fans."

“YouTube has long been a home for football fans, whether they’re streaming live games, keeping up with their home team, or watching the best plays in highlights,” said Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube. “Through this expanded partnership with the NFL, viewers will now also be able to experience the game they love in compelling and innovative ways through YouTube TV or YouTube Primetime Channels. We’re excited to continue our work with the NFL to make YouTube a great place for sports lovers everywhere.”

Starting next season, NFL Sunday Ticket will be available on two of YouTube’s businesses as an add-on package on YouTube TV and standalone a-la-carte on YouTube Primetime Channels, the league reported. 

No details on pricing are yet available. Updated NFL Sunday Ticket product features and functionality will be announced ahead of the 2023 NFL season, YouTube said. 

The NFL Sunday Ticket offers all out-of-market Sunday regular-season NFL games (based on viewer's location) broadcast on Fox and CBS and allows U.S. fans to follow all their favorite teams and players no matter where they live. 

NFL Sunday Ticket launched in 1994 and has been distributed on DirecTV’s satellite service since its inception. 

The deal builds on a relationship between the NFL and Google since the League first launched its official NFL channel on YouTube in 2015. Since then, the NFL YouTube channel has grown to more than 10 million subscribers who enjoy clips, highlights, game-day compilations and exclusive original content series like NFL Follies and NFL Film’s two-time Emmy winning flagship series Gameday All-Access, a mic’d up players show bringing fans inside the huddle and on the sidelines for exclusive access during the game.

Since 2015, the NFL’s presence on YouTube has increased to include channels for all 32 NFL clubs, as well as ten official League channels including NFL Films, NFL Network and the NFL’s Hispanic channel, Mundo NFL. Since the start of the NFL/YouTube partnership, NFL content on YouTube has generated billions of views.

In 2020, the NFL expanded its partnership with a carriage agreement to bring NFL Network and NFL RedZone to YouTube TV subscribers. Under the expanded relationship, the carriage agreement has been extended.

The companies also noted that this new agreement will also see them work more closely together in international markets. This will include increased content on the NFL channel, the creation of a bespoke NFL International show available on the YouTube platform and the creation of a creator content program for select top YouTube creators globally.

Additionally, as part of the agreement, YouTube and the NFL will facilitate exclusive access to official content and attendance opportunities for select YouTube Creators at key NFL tentpole events. 

YouTube is now also the presenting sponsor of both Back Together Saturday as well as NFL Kickoff Weekend. Back Together Saturday is the League’s official start to training camp when all 32 NFL clubs hold practices with club-led fan events. YouTube’s presenting sponsorship of NFL Kickoff Weekend marks the first time a League partner will have a presence from the kickoff of the season on Thursday night through the weekend games and Monday night.

SAN FRANCISCO—YouTube TV subscribers in several states have filed a class action lawsuit against The Walt Disney Co., claiming that the media giant uses its ownership of Hulu and ESPN to jack up subscription prices. 

The suit (Biddle v. The Walt Disney Co, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 22-cv-0731) was filed in San Francisco on Friday and represents subscribers from California, Arizona, Indiana and Kentucky. It alleges that language in Disney’s carriage agreements with SLPTVs (streaming live pay television) stipulates that their lowest price bundles must include ESPN and that Disney’s “Most Favored Nation” clauses put upward price pressures on every rival SLPTV service, something that has contributed to nearly doubling the subscription price to YouTube TV from $35 to $65 since 2019.  

“Together, these carriage agreement mandates—which now cover all of Disney’s leading competitors in the SLPTV Market—allow Disney to use ESPN and Hulu to set a price floor in the SLPTV Market and to inflate prices marketwide by raising the prices of its own products,” the plaintiffs claim in their lawsuit. “Since Disney acquired operational control over Hulu in May 2019, prices across the SLPTV Market, including for YouTube TV, have doubled.” 

“This dramatic, marketwide price inflation has been led by Disney’s own price hikes for Hulu + Live TV, and has directly tracked Disney’s competitor-by-competitor negotiation of new SLPTV carriage agreements over this time period."

The lawsuit states that subscribers "paid prices for their YouTube TV subscriptions that were higher than they would have been absent Disney's anticompetitive conduct," adding that approximately 5 million YouTube TV subscribers are paying “anticompetitive inflated” subscriptions.

The plaintiffs noted that when YouTube TV owner Alphabet carriage negotiated new carriage agreements in late 2021, YouTube TV publicly stated that absent its agreement with Disney, it would provide an ESPN-less base plan at $15 less than it otherwise charged for its baseline product. No such lower tier based plan without ESPN is available currently however.

Although no monetary damages have been specified, the plaintiffs lawyers are asking the court to issue an injunction allowing them to decline "base bundles with ESPN and related Disney-controlled channels." 

With the rise in popularity of SLPTVs (also known as "virtual multichannel video program distributors or vMVPDs) in recent years, services such as YouTube TV, Hulu+ with Live TV and Sling TV have gone out of their way to mimic the traditional cable TV bundles right down to the EPGs. But such familiarity can breed contempt when it comes to negotiations between traditional TV networks and streaming services that are more used to doing things the way they do in Silicon Valley.

As the similarities between traditional pay TV bundles and vMVPDs become more apparent, so do the battles for carriage and the resulting price increases. With broadcasters pressuring the FCC to treat vMVPDs more like traditional pay-TV services, lawsuits such as these could help shape the future of retransmission negotiations. 

What’s the best live streaming TV service in 2022 according to U.S. News & World Report? According to its analysis, three services vie for the top honors: fuboTV, YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV.

One differentiator that probably didn’t make a big impact in its final tally is price: Both fuboTV and Hulu + Live TV start at $70 for a monthly subscription (with options to increase the fee) while YouTube TV is close behind at $65. 

Granularly, Hulu + LiveTV and YouTube TV garnered 4.1 stars while fuboTV came in at 4.0 but all three were considered the top contenders according to the publication. Trailing behind were SlingTV at 3.8, Philo at 3.7 and DirecTV Stream at 3.5.

As for Hulu + Live TV, U.S. News liked its unlimited DVR storage as well as its extensive library, which includes Disney+ and ESPN+ as part of its $70 monthly subscription. “That’s multiple libraries of original content and exclusive movies and TV series that no other live TV streaming service offers,” it said.

fuboTV, which has branded itself as a leading source of live sports streaming, was ranked the #1 Sports Streaming Service in the report, as well as tying for first among overall live TV streaming services. “It also offers a full range of entertainment channels, making it an appealing option for both devoted sports fans and general TV viewers,” they said. “With plans starting at $69.99 per month, it’s priced on the higher side of live-TV streaming services, but that price also includes up to 1,000 hours of cloud DVR storage and unlimited screens for simultaneous viewing at home.”

YouTube TV, which is most like Hulu + Live TV, differentiates itself from its competitor by offering a wider availability of broadcast channels (including PBS) as well as NBA TV and NFL Network and a lower-priced Spanish plan, U.S. News said. 

As for the also-rans, U.S. News says it likes Philo’s $25 monthly rate, calling it “a bargain for subscribers who are primarily looking for entertainment programming and aren’t interested in live sports or news.” Sling TV offers more live news and sports than Philo, including CNN and ESPN, but it doesn’t have the extensive sports programming of pricier live-TV streaming services and DirecTV Stream is the most expensive of the seven live streaming services. 

One factor also working against DirecTV Stream’s favor, however, is that, unlike the others on the list, it is more likely to get caught up in the ongoing retrans battles, resulting in loss of over-the-air channels. And despite the lack of daylight between monthly subscription rates among the leaders in the survey, picking the best live TV streaming service still comes down to price, U.S. News said. 

"Picking the right live-TV streaming service largely comes down to price. Smaller-scale services, Philo and Sling TV, may cost less than half of the monthly fee for pricier services like fuboTV and Hulu + Live TV."

The National Association of Broadcasters is planning to ask the FCC to adopt new regulations that would recognize changes in the television marketplace and force streaming services to be regulated more in line with existing rules for broadcasters. 

In a Politico article, NAB President Curtis LeGeyt said that the effort to re-open rules that had been proposed during the Obama administration was discussed during a recent private board meeting. Such changes would be more inline with “changes in the marketplace” LeGeyt told Politico. It would also reflect comments NAB made to the commission earlier this year in an ex parte filing, which, while it dealt mainly with radio ownership issues, also touched upon reforms to existing rules that would include streaming companies. 

"While this submission primarily responds to invalid claims made by those opposing reform of the local radio rule, NAB’s legal and economic analyses also refute arguments against ownership rule reform more generally, including for local TV broadcasters," NAB said at the time.

Top of mind is retrans: broadcasters want the commission to look into expanding broadcasters’ ability to negotiate contracts beyond traditional cable and satellite pay-TV providers to services that carry broadcasters’ local channels, so-called “virtual multichannel video program distributors” (vMVPVDs) like YoutubeTV, Hulu and SlingTV.  

The move doesn’t come without opposition, however from within NAB, where the networks have differed with the association’s decision to pursue updated rules and the local stations, who are pushing to extend retrans rules to apply to streaming platforms. 

LeGeyt acknowledged this reality, telling Politico, “NAB membership is a large tent, and it is not uncommon for there to be differences of views among our companies. Like any member-driven organization, we move forward when a critical mass of our membership is in agreement, and even in those instances we strive for advocacy that maintains unity for the good of the broadcast industry and the tens of millions of Americans who rely on our service every day.”

The American Television Association, a critic of the NAB, especially over retrans battles that often result in broadcast stations pulling their signals, responded to the Politico article, saying the FCC should pay more attention to updating rules and protecting consumers from rising costs. 

“The broadcast industry wants to take the current framework, which is already responsible for thousands of consumer blackouts and massive annual price increases, and expand it to streaming,” stated ATVA spokesperson, Jessica Kendust. “The FCC should focus on modernizing and fixing the broken system, not imposing new costs on streaming customers.”

SAN BRUNO, Calif.—YouTube TV has announced that it reached the milestone of five million subs and people with trial subscriptions in June of 2022, a little more than five years after it launched in February 2017. 

The five million milestone makes YouTube TV larger than any of the other internet-based pay TV providers (a.k.a. vMVPDs) and would rank YouTube TV as the fifth largest pay TV provider.

A report from Leichtman Research Group found that in the first quarter of 2022, Comcast was the largest pay TV provider with 17.66 million video subs (down 512,000 in Q1, 2022), followed by Charter (down 112,000 subs to 15.72 million), DirecTV (down 300,000 to 14.3 million), Dish TV (down 228,000 to 7.99 million), Hulu + Live TV (down 200,000 to 4.1 million), Verizon FiOS (down 78,000 to 3.57 million), Cox (down 80,000 to 3.31 million),  and Altice (down 73,600 to 2.66 million).

In a blog post celebrating the milestone, Christian Oestlien, vice president of product management, YouTube TV and Connected TV, reported that “When we launched YouTube TV five years ago, we wanted to make watching TV even more enjoyable — featuring a modern product experience without all the commitments, equipment fees and hassle. Today, we’re humbled that five million of you are currently on this journey with us.”

Oestilen added that “When YouTube TV started out, a group of engineers climbed onto the roof of YouTube headquarters while holding an antenna in order to build a prototype. Based on this experience, we almost settled on calling the YouTube TV you know and love today as `YouTube Air.’ And within the team that worked on this product, our project codename was `Unplugged.’ (Watching TV without a cable box — get it?).”

LONDON—New research from Omdia has found that virtual pay TV subscribers are some of the best customers for video services, with the average virtual pay TV user in the U.S. utilizing 13.5 video services per month compared to 7.4 services in the average video household during 2021. 

The new data from Omdia’s TV & Online Video Intelligence Service, which provides subscription video on demand (SVOD), advertisement-based video (AVOD), and pay TV revenue forecasts across 100 territories worldwide, also found that in the U.S., traditional pay-TV subscriptions saw a 7% decline in 2021, ending the year with 69.7 million households with a traditional pay-TV subscription. 

Of the 125.1 million TV households in the U.S., 55.4 million did not have a traditional linear experience. At the end of 2021, there were 13.6 million virtual pay-TV subscriptions in the U.S. representing approximately 11% of TV households.

In consumer surveys, virtual multiprogramming video distributors (vMVPD) customers rated the user experience higher for virtual pay TV than SVOD, AVOD, or traditional pay TV, Omdia said.  

“Because virtual pay-TV services are internet-based and have no long-term contracts like traditional pay TV, user interfaces and experiences are received well and can adapt to changing customer needs,” said Sarah Henschel, principal analyst at Omdia.

Omdia’s analysis also showed that virtual pay TV in the U.S. continue to have more users per subscription than traditional pay TV, Netflix, and Amazon services. In April 2021, virtual pay TV had 3.7 users per subscription on average while traditional pay TV had 2.3. 

The Omdia data showed that in April 2021, YouTube TV accounted for 26% of total virtual pay-TV subscriptions but 39% of total virtual pay-TV users. 

Virtual pay-TV users typically skew younger than the average pay-TV and SVOD users, meaning they may be more tech-savvy and more likely to seek content post-cord-cutting, the researchers said. While password sharing and subscription sharing may initially seem like a bad trend for service growth, it has proven to be quite the opposite for YouTube TV. As a service, it has the most users per subscription, but that growth has allowed it to become the number one service in the U.S.

“These users are more than twice as likely to use transactional video services (both retail and rental), with this growing to 3x as likely for premium video on demand (PVOD) and more than 5x for sport pay-per-view (PPV),” Henschel said. “Virtual pay-TV users are also almost 3x as likely to have pirated video content. This over-indexing highlights that these consumers are content-hungry and are able to find the content they need—through paid means or otherwise.”

Although virtual pay TV users are highly engaged, price hikes continue to push consumers to fully cut the cord and just rely on SVOD or AVOD services, the Omdia researchers said. Average monthly pricing for a vMVPD service in the U.S. in 2021 was $58.89 per month compared to $99.44 for traditional pay TV and $8.75 for SVOD.

While virtual pay TV has attracted a customer base of avid video consumers, the business models for these services remain difficult, researchers explained. Virtual pay-TV services still pay carriage fees to channel owners to license content and channel groups often bundle multiple channels together during negotiations to require carriers to take all or nothing. This forces virtual pay-TV services to pay high margin prices for licensing with little margin left over for in-house profits. 

This also explains why companies in the U.S. that have done well have larger conglomerates backing them (Google and Disney) to offset operational costs and why the virtual pay-TV business has struggled to find profitability with small margins causing U.S. average pricing to double from 2017 to 2021, Omdia reported. 

“U.S. virtual pay-TV users skew toward high income 25 to 44-year-old males with interest in TV shows and sports,” said Max Signorelli, senior analyst at Omdia. “Live sports is one of the driving growth factors behind virtual pay TV, but it is still niche in size compared to pay TV or SVOD.” 

U.S. virtual pay TV accounted for 7% of subscription revenue but only 3% of total subscriptions, the researchers also reported. 

LOS ANGELES & SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group (AMG) and Google have announced a new multi-year and multi-platform agreement that will help AMG expand and improve its digital operations with technologies from Google Cloud and give AMG networks additional carriage on YouTube TV. 

As part of the agreement, Google Cloud will provide its cloud infrastructure for AMG’s digital operations and provide technologies that will help AMG speed up the process of building apps, improve its decision-making process and help AMG better connect to its audiences using Google Cloud’s data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning capabilities.

AMG will also expand its YouTube TV carriage in 2022, initially with The Weather Channel and select Allen Media Group Networks. Additional nets will launch at a later date, the companies said. 

Additionally, Allen Media Digital and Google will continue to work together to bring AMG’s streaming offerings to more consumers on the devices of their choice via Google Play to Android phones and tablets, as well as Google TV and other Android TV OS devices.

“All of our Allen Media Group properties are growing at an unprecedented rate, and our partnership with Google is a key step in our continued global transformation," said Byron Allen, founder, chairman, and CEO of Allen Media Group. “By leveraging Google's technology, distribution, marketing, ad sales platforms, enormous capital support, and expertise, Allen Media Group will seamlessly build and enhance our reach and revenue worldwide."

“Allen Media Group’s vast portfolio of properties represents a tremendous opportunity to engage audiences worldwide,” says Don Harrison, president of Global Partnerships, Google. “We’re thrilled to partner with Allen Media Group to offer Google’s secure technology solutions, data analytics and distribution platforms as it continues to transform its business digitally and connect with more viewers globally.”

ALLAS—New data from Parks Associates' Video Services Dashboard shows that 19% of US broadband households have a vMVPD service, which is an online pay-TV service that offer bundles of live channels via third-party connected devices. 

The company noted that it will be presenting that research and other recent data in its upcoming fourth annual Future of Video: OTT, Pay TV, and Digital Media conference on December 14. 

More information on the conference is available here. 

PHILADELPHIA—Comcast has made a notable addition to its Xfinity Flex platform of streaming services for broadband-only customers by adding the virtual MPVD YouTube TV. 

New and existing YouTube TV customers can access the service on Flex by clicking on the app or with the voice control remote, Comcast said. 

YouTube TV offers access to more than 85 channels including major broadcast and popular cable networks along with local and national live sports, breaking news, live channels and unlimited cloud DVR.

“The launch of YouTube TV on Flex is another example of how we surround our broadband service with value, giving our customers access to all their preferred content and subscriptions on one device powered by our award-winning entertainment and voice platform,” said Colin Petrie-Norris, senior vice president, consumer entertainment, Xfinity.

YouTube TV joins hundreds of other streaming services available on the Flex platform as well as on XClass TV, Comcast’s new smart TV. 

NEW YORK—NBCUniversal and YouTube TV reached a new carriage agreement for its channels and stations on the virtual MVPD on October 3, 2021 avoiding a blackout. 

NBCU warned last week that its channels could go dark on the virtual MVPD when the old agreement ended on September 30. 

The two parties stepped back from the brink of a blackout however, and agreed to a short extension on September 30 to continue negotiating. 

One early sticking point was the cost of a new deal and NBCU’s desire to have its streaming service Peacock added to YouTube TV. Peacock was not mentioned as part of the October 3 deal.

In a statement sent to TV Tech, an NBCU spokesman said: “We are thrilled to have reached a deal with YouTube TV and can continue to offer our full network portfolio, without interruption. YouTube is a valued partner and we never want to involve our fans in a dispute, but we felt obligated to let them know what was at stake. We thank our viewers for their loyalty and promise to continue bringing them the networks and programs they love.”

YouTube TV said in a statement: “We’re thrilled to share that we have now reached an agreement with NBCUniversal. You’ll continue to have access to 85+ channels, including all NBCU channels, their Regional Sports Networks, and your local NBC station, with no change to our current monthly price.”

MIAMI—Univision Communications has announced that it has reached a carriage agreement with YouTube TV that makes Univision, UniMás and Galavisión available on the subscription streaming service. 

This will also give subscribers in the top Hispanic markets, including Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas and Chicago, among others, a new way to access Univision and UniMás’ highly rated local news, weather and programming, the companies said. 

Univision's network and local content became part of the subscription streaming service’s standard offering on September 15. 

“We are delighted to partner with YouTube TV to expand Univision’s robust portfolio of networks and stations to include YouTube TV,” said Hamed Nasseri, vice president, content distribution, Univision. “Amid the popularity of streaming services as well as the growing influence of our Hispanic community, this is an important step to ensure that our audience has access to our leading Spanish-language news, sports, and entertainment wherever they consume content. We are excited for today’s launch and recognize YouTube TV’s continued commitment to serving our growing and influential Hispanic audience.”

Univision, UniMás and Galavisión own a combined 55% share of Spanish-language television viewing in primetime among Adults 18-49, Univision said.