YouTube TV May Lose All NBCU Channels, Including NBC Locals, NBC Sports RSNs, NBCSN, MSNBC, Bravo, USA, & E!
If NBCUniversal and YouTube TV can’t reach a deal by Thursday, September 30th, YouTube TV subscribers may be without more than 14 NBCU-owned channels including all local NBC affiliates and NBC Sports RSNs.
In a statement to The Streamable, a NBCU Spokesperson said:
NBCUniversal is seeking fair rates from Google for YouTube TV’s continued carriage of the only portfolio offering entertainment, Hispanic, news and sports networks. Unfortunately, Google is refusing to make a deal at these fair rates and is willing to withhold entertainment, news and sports programming from their paying customers. NBCUniversal feels a responsibility to inform our fans that they are at risk of losing their favorite shows if Google continues with their demands.”
The channels affected include all NBC locals, as well as Bravo, CNBC, E!, Golf Channel, MSNBC, NBC Sports Network, Oxygen, Syfy, Telemundo, Universal Kids, Universo, and USA Network.
Customers would also lose their local NBC Sports RSN like NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports California, NBC Sports Chicago, NBC Sports Philadelphia, and NBC Sports Washington. If the RSNs were to be dropped, YouTube TV would no longer offer Regional Sports Networks in any market, after dropping Bally Sports RSNs last year.
YouTube TV said in a blog post that if they cannot renew the deal, they would drop the price of the service to $54.99 a month (from $64.99) until the two sides can reach a deal.
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.
NBCU-owned channels are available across Live TV Streaming Services, including fuboTV, Hulu Live TV, DIRECTV STREAM, and Sling TV Blue Plan.
| DTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Sign Up | Free Trial | Get 50% Off | Sign Up | |||
| $79.99 | $91.99 | $76.99 | $25 | $40 | $40 | $72.99 | ||
| Bravo | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| CNBC | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | + $6 | ✓ | |
| E! | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Golf Channel | + $15 | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | + $11 | ✓ | |
| MSNBC | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| NBC | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| NBC Sports Bay Area | + $29 | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | |
| NBC Sports California | + $29 | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | |
| NBC Sports Chicago | + $29 | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | |
| NBC Sports Network | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| NBC Sports Philadelphia | - | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | |
| NBC Sports Washington | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Oxygen | + $40 | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | + $6 | ✓ | |
| Syfy | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Telemundo | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | |
| Universal Kids | + $40 | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | |
| Universo | + $15 | + $10 | + $5 | - | - | + $6 | ✓ | |
| USA Network | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
YouTube TV has added some channels to their Sports Plus Add-on like beIn Sports, as well as Univision and Unimas, but they’ve also lost a bunch of channels last year. In addition to dropping Bally Sports (which were Fox Sports RSNs at the time), they also dropped Sinclair-owned Tennis Channel and Boston-based RSN NESN.
They are also currently in a carriage dispute with Roku, which doesn’t allow new subscribers to download the YouTube TV App. Instead, customers have to access the service through the YouTube App, which has yet to be removed from the platform.