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.”
