In a Truth Social post made yesterday, President Donald Trump pressed Google-owned YouTube TV to restore access to Univision, citing the Spanish-language broadcast network’s favorable coverage of him and Republicans as reason for doing so.
“I hope Univision, a great and very popular Hispanic Network, can get BACK onto the very amazing Google/YouTube,” the GOP leader wrote. “It has been taken out of their package, which is VERY BAD for Republicans in the upcoming Midterms. They were so good to me with their highest rated ever political Special, and I set a Republican Record in Hispanic voting. Google, for the purpose of FAIRNESS, please let Univision back! President DJT.”
Last week, Mexican American media conglomerate TelevisaUnivision’s deal with YouTube TV expired, sparking an ongoing carriage dispute, where the former accusing the subscription-based streaming platform of “stripping millions of Hispanic viewers of the Spanish-language news, sports, and entertainment they rely on every day.”
In response, YouTube TV released the following statement: “TelevisaUnivision has over 160 million subscribers and billions of views across YouTube, where they generate ad revenue from their content. On our paid live TV subscription service, YouTube TV, however, TelevisaUnivision only represents a tiny fraction of overall consumption.”
As such, the YouTube subsidiary said TelevisaUnivision’s “current demands aren’t supported by their performance on YouTube TV over the last four years.” Unable to reach a deal, the media company’s content, including channels Univision and UniMás, have gone dark on the pay-TV platform, with content being scrubbed from subscribers’ libraries. Viewers can continue to access “select” TelevisaUnivision programming via the Univision Noticias YouTube channel or by signing up for ViX, the streaming platform operated by TelevisaUnivision.
“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’s statement continued.
Last month, the Hispanic media giant began warning its viewers, via on-air spots and social media posts, that its networks were at risk of being punted to a Spanish-only add-on package, which would drastically limit its reach and force Latino households to pay more for the Spanish-language programming they used to get as part of their base $82.99-a-month YouTube TV subscription.
Separately, just a few days ago, NBCUniversal and YouTube TV announced a “long-term” distribution agreement, ending the threat of a blackout of NBCU networks in more than 10 million pay-TV homes.
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