YouTube TV and NBCUniversal agree to temporary extension to avoid channel blackout
For the moment, the price of service won't be going down.
After coming to public blows earlier in the week, YouTube TV and NBCUniversal have come to terms on a “short-term” agreement for the streaming service to continue carrying the broadcaster’s content. With the extension, YouTube TV subscribers won’t lose access to more than a dozen channels, including NBC, Bravo and the Golf Channel, while the companies attempt to negotiate a longer-term pact.
“NBCUniversal and YouTube TV have agreed to a short extension while parties continue talks,” a spokesperson for NBCUniversal told Variety. “NBCUniversal will not go dark on YouTube TV at midnight eastern tonight.”
When the dispute first went public, YouTube said it would reduce the monthly price of its service from $65 to $55 per month if subscribers lost access to NBCU content. It’s currently unclear just how long the current extension is slated to last. What appears to be at the center of the disagreement is just how much YouTube should pay for content from the broadcaster.
“For the duration of our agreement, YouTube TV seeks the same rates that services of a similar size get from NBCU so we can continue offering YouTube TV to members at a competitive and fair price," the Google-owned service said at the start of the week. A spokesperson for YouTube also told Variety NBCU had asked the company to bundle Peacock Premium with its TV service, a demand they said would have effectively double-charged customers for the same content.
