YouTube TV could lose NBC programming

YouTube TV is one of the best internet-based television providers, as it offers many channels at a reasonable (albeit ever-increasing) price. Not to mention, it comes with unlimited DVR storage, so you can record as many things as you'd like. Best of all, it can be used on many platforms, such as Android, iOS, and the web -- you can watch YouTube TV pretty much everywhere.

Unfortunately, YouTube TV suffers from some of the same issues that plague traditional cable television providers. For instance, from time time, TV providers and channel-owners run into tough negotiations that sometimes spill out publicly.

Today, YouTube TV announces current negotiations with NBCUniversal are apparently not going well. In fact, there is a possibility that YouTube TV could lose NBC programming entirely! This wouldn't just be the NBC channel, but other networks too, such as USA, MSNBC, Oxygen, and more.

The YouTube Team shares a statement below.

We know you love watching Sunday Night Football, spending your weeknights with Jimmy Fallon, and binge watching Law and Order SVU. That's why we've been working to renew our deal with NBCUniversal to continue carrying their content on YouTube TV. Since our agreement expires on Thursday, September 30, and we haven't yet been able to reach an equitable agreement, we wanted to give you an early heads up so you understand your choices.

Our ask is that NBCU treats YouTube TV like any other TV provider. In other words, 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.

If NBCU offers us equitable terms, we’ll renew our agreement with them. However, if we are unable to reach a deal by Thursday, the NBCU lineup of channels will no longer be available on YouTube TV and we will decrease our monthly price by $10, from $64.99 to $54.99 (while this content remains off our platform). You can sign up for NBC’s own direct-to-consumer streaming service, Peacock, which they offer for $4.99/month to continue watching NBCU content, such as Sunday Night Football.

While we would love every member to continue to stay with our service, we understand that you may still choose to pause or cancel your membership. We want to make YouTube TV flexible, so members can pause or cancel anytime. We will give you updates as negotiations continue.

NBCU is an important partner for us and as you can imagine, this is not the outcome that we want. We’re still in active conversations with NBCU and are hopeful we can get past this impasse to keep their content available on YouTube TV.

Will YouTube TV actually lose NBC programming? Goodness, I hope not. Look, I am a very satisfied YouTube TV subscriber, but without NBC and other NBCUniversal channels, I don't know if my family and I could continue with it. Thankfully, I suspect this public comment about the negotiations is merely a tactic to get a deal done.

Image credit: TaraPattaShutterstock

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