Hispanic media giant TelevisaUnivision‘s networks have gone dark on YouTube TV in a carriage dispute.
In a statement, TelevisaUnivision said YouTube TV is “stripping millions of Hispanic viewers of the Spanish-language news, sports, and entertainment they rely on every day.”
YouTube TV, which has 10 million subscribers, is also at the end of its current contract with NBCUniversal and faces a potential outage of their networks as well. Both companies’ distribution agreements were set to expire at midnight Eastern time on Tuesday. There has been no update on NBCU’s status.
In a note to its subscribers, YouTube TV wrote, “We wanted to let you know that we have been working with TelevisaUnivision to reach an agreement that reflects the value of their content. Unfortunately their current demands aren’t supported by their performance on YouTube TV over the last four years, and despite our best efforts, we’ve been unable to reach a deal. Starting today, TelevisaUnivision content, including Univision and UniMas, will be removed from YouTube TV, as well as any library recordings you have from these channels.”
Viewers can continue to access “select” TelevisaUnivision programming via the Univision Noticias YouTube channel or by signing up for Vix, the message continued.
“Google’s actions are especially tone-deaf and egregious on the eve of a potential government shutdown, disregarding the appeals of government officials and Hispanic organizations who urged them to keep Univision on the main bundle. To add insult to injury, YouTube TV chose to take this step during Hispanic Heritage Month – an act that is deeply insensitive and offensive.”
TelevisaUnivision CEO Daniel Alegre joined the company last year after a long career in the tech sector, including 20 years at Google.
“Google has made an unfortunate mistake that is easily reversible, and we are always open to finding constructive ways for Hispanics to regain access to their trusted and critical content. We remain steadfast in advocating for our audience and ensuring that YouTube TV subscribers know they have many options to continue watching Univision’s programming through other providers.”
While carriage disputes are far from uncommon, especially as the economics of pay-TV become increasingly pressured in an era of cord-cutting, YouTube TV as a distributor cuts a unique profile. It is now the No. 4 operator in the U.S., having surpassed 10 million subscribers just eight years after it launched. It is also growing while the Top 3 (Charter, Comcast and DirecTV) are shrinking.
Unlike other cable or satellite providers, YouTube TV is part of a tech behemoth that is not particularly beholden to the entertainment business. Parent company Google’s $3 trillion market cap frequently cited by those across the bargaining table, who say that dynamic makes the service less willing to compromise. It also may have informed its decision to raise prices twice (a total uptick of $18) in less than two years.
NBCU first started warning viewers last week about the looming deadline, running on-screen crawls and blasting out messages across social media that YouTube was “at it again.” In one sense, they aren’t incorrect. Prior to the dustups with NBCU and TelevisaUnivision, YouTube TV had nearly blacked out Paramount and Fox networks, reaching deals with both media companies after tensions spilled into public view.
One core issue in the YouTube TV-NBCU impasse has been the tech company’s push to “ingest” streaming programming from NBCU as opposed to merely integrating Peacock into its channel offerings.
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