YouTube TV and NBC are bickering back and forth and we’re caught in the middle
Yesterday was kind of a weird one if you watch (American) football. During the Sunday Night Football broadcast on NBC, notices and advertisements appeared, warning YouTube TV subscribers that NBC channels might be dropped from the streaming service.
The YouTube TV Twitter account responded, along with an official blog post, publicly confirming some details of the current agreement between Google and NBCUniversal.
(1/3) We've been working to renew our deal with NBCUniversal to continue carrying its content on YouTube TV. Since our agreement expires on 9/30 and we haven't yet been able to reach an equitable agreement, we wanted to give you an early heads up so you understand your choices.
— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) September 26, 2021
The agreement between Google and NBCU ends in just a couple of days, meaning that we could be losing NBC channels starting on October 1. In the same thread, YouTube TV confirmed that pricing would be dropped to $54.99 per month if a new deal cannot be agreed upon. Apparently, the two companies are “still in active conversations”, but as of right now, there’s no indication as to whether an agreement will be met.
If NBCU does leave YouTube TV, it would be a big hit to the streaming service. In the event that this does happen, these are the channels that would be removed:
@YouTubeTV may drop all of your favorite NBCUniversal programming from @NBC, @BravoTV, @MSNBC, @Telemundo, @USA_Network and more! Visit https://t.co/I3keStuLVy to keep your news, shows and sports.
— NBC Entertainment (@nbc) September 26, 2021
- NBC
- NBC Sports
- NBCSN
- MSNBC
- CNBC
- Bravo
- USA Network
- E! (Entertainment)
- Oxygen
- SYFY Network
- Telemundo
- Universal Kids
- Universo
- Golf Channel
Sports fans would not be left out in the dark completely, however, as you could sign up for Peacock in order to continue enjoying live sports. In the blog post, Google states that it’s NBC that is playing hardball and is not offering “equitable terms” compared to “any other TV provider.” According to a report by Variety, NBC is reportedly asking for higher rates than what Google wants to pay, along with bundling Peacock with YouTube TV.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming days, and whether YouTube TV bends to the will of NBC, or if it’s the other way around.