TelevisaUnivision channels pulled from Fubo in carriage dispute
TelevisaUnivision channels pulled from Fubo in carriage dispute
Fubo says that the channel owner is asking for unreasonable fees in its attempts to secure a new deal.
Carriage disputes in the television world are only going to get more frequent with more and more viewers deciding to cut the cord. There’s a new one for Fubo subscribers to contend with, just in time for Christmas. The live TV streaming service is now mired in a dispute with TelevisaUnivision, owners of the Univision linear channel and other Spanish-language channels, as well as the on-demand streaming service ViX.
Key Details:
- TelevisaUnivision channels are no longer available on any Fubo plan.
- Fubo says the channel owner proposed new deal terms that would force it to raise prices by 25%.
- TelevisaUnivision claims it is only asking “market value” for its networks.
The dispute has caused TelevisaUnivision to pull all of its available channels from Fubo’s plans. The streamer does offer a plan specifically built around Spanish-language channels, but it will be without one of its programming crown jewels and no networks from Univision.
Fubo claims that the channel owner was asking for new carriage fees that would have forced a price increase on customers, and bemoaned the fact that its viewers don’t get free access to TelevisaUnivision’s streaming service ViX, which carries a wide variety of live soccer games and would undoubtedly be a good addition to Fubo’s sports-forward programming options.
“Fubo has made considerable efforts and offered compromises to renew our long-standing content agreement for TelevisaUnivision and its affiliated channels,” Fubo said in a statement on Monday. “However, TelevisaUnivision presented us with a new contract with restructured terms that would increase prices by 25% for our subscribers. Furthermore, TelevisaUnivision’s unfair bundling and tying practices require Fubo subscribers to buy all of their channels, including the channels they don’t watch.”
TelevisaUnivision, of course, is laying the blame for the dispute at Fubo’s feet. It says that it’s only asking for a fair price that other programmers have agreed to pay for its content and that viewers can find its content via methods other than Fubo if they want to.
“We have been working in good faith to reach an agreement with Fubo to avoid this outcome, but they refuse to pay the market value that other distributors have agreed to,” TelevisaUnivision said in their own statement. “Fortunately, our channels are broadly distributed across many platforms, ensuring our audience has plenty of options to continue enjoying our programming while we work towards a resolution.”
| DIRECTV | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube TV | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Save with Sling | Free Trial | |||||
| $20.99 | $9.99 | $28.99 | $25 | $19.99 | $29.99 | $45.99 | $45.99 | $64.99 | ||
| Univision | + $15 | + $59 | + $61 | - | - | - | - | - | ✓ | |
At this point, it’s fairly predictable how the dispute will go. The two sides will make competing statements to the press for a while, complete with sharp-edged rhetoric, but eventually, a deal will be reached. Whether or not a renewal will force Fubo to actually raise prices remains to be seen, but that is somewhat common practice; DIRECTV recently raised the price of a DIRECTV STREAM subscription, informing customers of the change just days before announcing a new carriage deal with Disney.
For now, however, it’s customers who are caught in the middle. Fubo points to its long list of other Spanish-language programming available in its statement regarding the dispute, but that’s of little comfort to viewers who signed up mainly to watch Univision. Check out the chart below if you are looking for other ways to watch the channel while the dispute goes on!
Fubo
Fubo is a live TV streaming service offering a robust lineup of approximately 150 premier channels, with plans starting at $63.99 per month. This entry-level package provides access to local broadcast affiliates 18 of the leading 35 cable channels channels, and valuable regional sports networks (RSNs).