YouTube TV, the increasingly powerful pay-TV operator fresh off of a carriage fight with Fox Corp., is now in a public dispute over distribution with TelevisaUnivision.
The Hispanic media giant is warning its viewers, via on-air spots and social media posts, that its networks are at risk of being shunted off to a Spanish-only add-on package. The move would dramatically limit its reach and force Hispanic households to pay more for the Spanish-language programming they used to get as part of their base $82.99-a-month YouTube TV subscription.
The parties are in talks for a new distribution agreement ahead of the September 30 expiration of the current carriage deal. YouTube TV, founded in 2017, has grown to more than 8 million subscribers, making it one of the top handful of pay-TV operators in the country. The Google-owned operation has also aggressively raised prices and shed channels like regional sports networks and other offerings as it has grown.
““TelevisaUnivision’s demands aren’t supported by their performance on YouTube TV over the last four years,” a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement provided to Deadline. “If we cannot reach a fair deal by September 30, their programming will no longer be available on YouTube TV. Our carriage decisions are based on viewer consumption and pricing, and any suggestion to the contrary is false.”
YouTube TV and Fox came close to a blackout but opted to implement an extension of the prior agreement before it finalized a new pact on August 28.
TelevisaUnivision says it is asking for the same consideration it received from DirecTV and Hulu + Live TV when it reached renewals with them earlier this year.
In a statement provided to Deadline, the company said Google’s stance is “an abuse of its market power.” It said its network belongs with major English-language networks as “an essential part of the American mainstream.” Broadcast flagship Univision “is of critical importance to millions of Hispanic Americans, something that has been recognized by every single major content distributor – except Google. Univision is not niche – it moves America.”
The strong rhetoric is particularly striking given that TelevisaUnivision CEO Daniel Alegre spent 16 years as an executive at Google. He took over the top job from Wade Davis as part of a dramatic overhaul of the privately held media company, which is navigating major changes in its business model as viewing and advertising migrates from linear TV to streaming.
While YouTube TV is a pay service, a large swath of TelevisaUnivision programming also available for free on the main YouTube platform, where it collectively has about 10 million subscribers across various channels..