Fox Corporation is warning viewers who subscribe to YouTube TV that they may lose access to the company’s news, sports, entertainment and local station programming as the media giant and the Google-owned platform’s current carriage deal is set to expire Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET.
“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,” a Fox spokesperson told TheWrap in a statement. “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.”
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YouTube TV currently carries Fox, Fox Sports, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, Fox Deportes, Fox News Channel and local Fox stations across the country.
If the two parties are unable to reach an agreement, Fox said YouTube TV customers could be deprived of some of the fall’s biggest television sporting events, including the NFL, college football, Big Ten Network and Major League Baseball. It noted that even with NFL Sunday Ticket, YouTube TV subscribers would miss any games on broadcast on their local Fox station.
In a blog post, YouTube said that Fox is asking for payments that are “far higher than what partners with comparable content offerings receive.”
“Our priority is to reach a deal that reflects the value of their content and is fair for both sides without passing on additional costs to our subscribers,” the company added.
If Fox and YouTube’s carriage deal expires with no deal, the latter said it would provide members with a $10 credit. Additionally, users can subscribe to the recently launched Fox One streaming service.
“We value our partnership with Fox and will continue our discussions toward reaching a deal that keeps their content on YouTube TV,” the company concluded.
YouTube TV’s latest carriage dispute came after Paramount channels, including CBS, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, were at risk of being pulled earlier this year. However, the two parties ended up reaching a deal that averted a blackout from happening.
The multi-year deal expanded the two parties’ streaming relationship, with the ongoing inclusion of Paramount+ with Showtime and BET+ on YouTube Primetime Channels and Google giving qualifying YouTube TV customers the option to bundle Paramount+.
With more than 8 million subscribers, YouTube TV is the fourth-largest pay TV operator, behind Charter Communications, Comcast and DirecTV. It is the largest virtual multichannel video programming distributor (vMVPD).
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