YouTube TV May Lose 14 Major Channels In NBCU Deal Dispute

YouTube TV subscribers are caught in the crossfire amid a dispute between YouTube and NBC Universal. As with past deal disputes, these channels may go dark until/unless the two companies can come to a new agreement over how much YouTube TV will pay to offer the content. Assuming a deal can't be reached, channels like USA, NBC, and Syfy will be removed.

Both NBC and YouTube have offered their stances on the matter; YouTube in the form of a blog post and NBC via a dedicated website encouraging YouTube TV subscribers to either message YouTube about the issue or switch to a different provider. What's all the drama about?

Put simply, YouTube TV's existing deal to carry these NBCUniversal networks will expire in the near future. A new deal needs to be reached between the two companies for YouTube TV to continue offering the networks, but the companies can't come to an agreement.

YouTube commented on the matter in its blog post, stating, "If NBCU offers us equitable terms, we'll renew our agreement with them." Typically speaking, these heated carriage disputes tend to resolve before a channel blackout occurs, but that's not always the case.

Assuming a deal isn't reached by the time the current agreement expires, YouTube says it will cut its monthly price by $10, taking YouTube TV to $54.99/month. In perhaps a jab back at NBCU's resources to help subscribers switch providers, YouTube instead points out that its subscribers can sign up for NBC's Peacock streaming service as an alternative.