YouTubeTV, NBCUniversal warn of impending blackout
NBC prepared to take off channels Sept. 30
Just weeks after Fox Corp. and Google’s YouTube TV were involved in a retransmission dispute, another issue has emerged with NBCUniversal.
If a deal can’t be reached by Sept. 30, YouTubeTV subscribers could lose channels from the company, including NBC, Telemundo, Bravo, MSNBC, and CNBC, which broke the story Thursday.
Also disappearing is NBC’s owned stations, including WMAQ-TV and Telemundo’s WSNS. NBC owns an NBC and Telemundo station in all five of the country’s largest markets.
“YouTube TV has refused the best rates and terms in the market, demanding preferential treatment and seeking an unfair advantage over competitors to dominate the video marketplace — all under the false pretends of fighting for the consumer. The result: YouTube TV customers will lose access to NBCUniversal’s premium programming”, said NBCU in a statement.
“NBCUniversal is asking us to pay more than what they charge consumers for the same content on Peacock, which would mean less flexibility and higher prices for our subscribers. We are committed to working with NBCUniversal to reach a fair deal for both sides ahead of our current agreement expiring on September 30. If their content is unavailable for an extended period of time, we’ll offer our subscribers a $10 credit”, said YouTubeTV in its own statement.
Complicating matters is that by early next year, NBC’s cable channels will be spun off from parent company Comcast to a new company called Versant. The Philadelphia-based cable giant is keeping NBC, its owned stations, Telemundo, and Bravo.
Tied into this is Google’s dissatisfaction with Peacock’s price increase over the summer, which undercuts NBC’s suite of cable channels on YouTubeTV, as much of the same content can be found on the NBCU-owned streaming service.
If NBCU pulls its channels, it would mark the first time it has gone “dark” on a major platform in its history, dating back to its ownership under General Electric. Comcast itself rarely has blackouts on its own platforms, which are marketed under the Xfinity name.
This is one of two contract renewal negotiations YouTubeTV is going through as Disney’s deal expires at the end of next month.
NBCU isn’t the only one potentially facing a dispute with YouTube TV. RSN Monumental Sports Network could also go dark soon on that platform and Hulu + Live TV in what was billed as a similar dispute. Once known as NBC Sports Washington and Home Team Sports, Monumental carries Washington Capitals and Wizards games in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, known as the “DMV”.
“It is no coincidence that the only distributors that are moving to drop the games fans love are part of a group of streaming providers — like Hulu, YouTube TV, and Fubo — that are purposefully pursuing a strategy that shapes the future market for sports rights for their own corporate benefit — not for the benefit of D.C sports fans,” Monumental President Friday Abernethy said in a statement on Thursday. “Monumental remains committed to offering fair and reasonable terms to keep our network on YouTube TV and Hulu so that our programming is available to as many viewers as possible.”
Abernethy accuses the three of giving NBC’s RSNs on those platforms “preferential treatment” as opposed to the independently-owned Monumental. Ironically, if NBCU fails to reach an agreement with YouTubeTV, those RSNs would also be off the platform.
NBCU sold NBC Sports Washington to Ted Leonsis, owner of the Capitals and Wizards, in 2022 and renamed it Monumental in 2023.
[Full disclosure: The writer of this article is a YouTubeTV and Xfinity Internet subscriber.]