Just days before the college football season begins, another television disagreement takes center stage. According to Austin Karp of SBJ, there is an “impasse” between FOX and YouTube TV regarding a potential deal between the two. This would mean channels such as FOX, FS1, and Big Ten Network would be dropped from YouTube TV’s lineup.
“It wouldnt be football season with some sort of carriage impasse,” Karp said via X. “Fox and YouTube TV (Google) apparently at an impasse regarding a deal. Fox/FS1/BTN getting dropped would obviously be a big deal for NFL, MLB, college football fans.”
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While there is some time to iron things out before NFL games get underway, the same cannot be said about college football. FOX is set to host one of Week 1’s best showdowns, as the Texas Longhorns travel up to Columbus to face the Ohio State Buckeyes. Big Noon Kickoff will also be in town before Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, and Jenny Taft have the call from inside the Shoe.
One day earlier, the Baylor Bears will open their season in a massive nonconfernece matchup against the Auburn Tigers. A nice Friday night appetizer to the full Saturday slate, scheduled to be broadcast by Jason Benetti, Robert Griffin III, and Alexa Landestoy on FOX.
YouTube TV says the previously listed channels will be taken off if an agreement with the network cannot be reached by 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday. From there, just over 48 hours until the Auburn-Baylor kickoff from McLane Stadium.
“Our current agreement with Fox is approaching its renewal date and we are in active and ongoing negotiations to continue carrying their content,” YouTube TV added in a statement. “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.
” … We are working diligently with the team at Fox to reach an agreement. We know this uncertainty is frustrating, and if Fox content becomes unavailable for an extended period of time, we will provide our members with a $10 credit.”
From an NFL perspective, games are not scheduled to air on FOX until Sept. 7. Four during the 1 p.m. ET slate and another two in the afternoon. Multiple divisional matchups are included, seeing fans miss out on games they usually care about the most.