YouTube TV dropped Univision’s Spanish-language networks late Tuesday, a contentious flip in a simmering dispute that has already drawn scrutiny from members of Congress.
“Google’s YouTube TV has refused to ‘Do the Proper Factor’ and dropped Univision from its platform—stripping thousands and thousands of Hispanic viewers of the Spanish-language information, sports activities, and leisure they depend on every single day,” father or mother firm TelevisaUnivision mentioned in an announcement, alluding to its marketing campaign slogan.
The outage, which started about 7 p.m. PDT, got here shortly earlier than the federal authorities shutdown — a newsworthy occasion that Univision journalists have been overlaying.
The deadlock occurred as one other deadline loomed in separate contract talks between YouTube TV and NBCUniversal, elevating the opportunity of a second blackout. Each Univision and NBCUniversal’s distribution agreements have been set to run out Tuesday night time. However on the deadline, NBCUniversal granted YouTube TV a short-term extension to permit the 2 sides to proceed engaged on a brand new deal.
NBCUniversal owns Telemundo, the opposite main Spanish-language broadcast community.
Outstanding members of Congress, together with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla), have demanded solutions from Google executives, together with Chief Government Sundar Pichai.
A main sticking level was YouTube TV’s proposal to shift the Univision community from its primary plan, which is offered to all subscribers, and put the channel on a costlier Spanish-language add-on bundle.
Univision cried foul, saying the swap would quantity to an 18% payment improve for its Spanish-language viewers. The transfer would additionally dramatically lower the income that Univision receives as a result of YouTube and different distributors pay charges based mostly on the variety of subscribers which have entry to a channel.
“Google shouldn’t be abusing its monopoly energy by forcing thousands and thousands of Texans & People to pay further for Spanish-
language programming,” Cruz mentioned in a message on X. “That’s not proper & it’s not honest.”
YouTube is flexing its market muscle. The Google platforms have turn into the dominant video service within the U.S., in keeping with Nielsen, with YouTube attracting greater than 120 million lively each day customers.
The pay YouTube TV service has turn into a serious draw with greater than 10 million buyer houses that obtain its conventional TV channel packages that embody NBC, ABC, Fox Information, and Comedy Central.
A YouTube spokesperson downplayed Univision’s departure, saying the Spanish-language firm continues to have a large following on its foremost YouTube web site with greater than “160 million subscribers and billions of views throughout YouTube, the place they generate advert income from their content material.”
Nonetheless, on the paid service, YouTube TV, the Spanish-language programming “solely represents a tiny fraction of total consumption,” the YouTube spokesperson mentioned.
The blackout comes a month after YouTube prevented a collision with Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp. The 2 firms hammered out a brand new distribution deal a couple of days after the August deadline.
NBCUniversal’s talks with Google have additionally been rocky. The tech behemoth has expressed a need to fold Peacock programming onto its YouTube TV platform quite than the present stand-alone service. However NBCUniversal has balked as a result of it has spent billions of {dollars} constructing Peacock and it needs to stay the conduit for its clients.
YouTube TV launched in April 2017 for $35 a month. The bundle of channels now prices $82.99.
In a bid for extra sports activities followers, YouTube TV took over the NFL Sunday Ticket premium sports activities bundle from DirecTV, which had been shedding greater than $100 million a yr to take care of the NFL service. YouTube TV provides Sunday Ticket as a base plan add-on or as a person channel on YouTube.
