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Hulu will add ViacomCBS cable channels to live TV service

Hulu will soon add more than a dozen ViacomCBS cable channels to its subscription live TV package under a new deal reached between the two companies that was announced on Monday.

The deal expands an earlier agreement covering broadcast and cable channels operated by CBS before the company merged with Viacom in April 2020. Under that deal, Hulu carried CBS-owned local stations as well as the CBS Sports Network, Pop TV, the Smithsonian Channel and Showtime.

Under the expanded deal, Hulu has agreed to carry pre-merger Viacom-programmed cable channels, including Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, BET, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, CMT and TV Land along with a handful of niche, digital-only variant networks.

“We are excited to have reached an expanded agreement with Hulu that underscores the value of our powerful portfolio of brands to next-generation TV platforms and viewers,” Ray Hopkins, an executive in charge of network distribution at ViacomCBS, said in a press release. “Hulu continues to be a great partner, and this agreement ensures that Hulu [with] Live TV subscribers are now able to enjoy the full breadth of our leading content across news, sports and entertainment for the first time.”

Financial terms of the deal were not revealed in the press release, and it was not clear if the addition of the channels would result in a price increase for customers. Hulu, which is majority-owned by the Walt Disney Company, recently hiked the cost of its base live TV package to $65 a month.

The deal comes less than a year after Google-owned YouTube TV agreed to carry the Viacom-programmed cable networks as part of an expanded deal with ViacomCBS after previously carrying CBS-owned broadcast and cable networks. YouTube TV began offering MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, TV Land, Nickelodeon, CMT and BET in the summer but has yet to offer the rest of ViacomCBS’ cable networks.

Until recently, Hulu was one of the few streaming cable TV replacements to not carry the Viacom-programmed cable networks, which were formerly known as MTV Networks before the merger with CBS was consummated. Other streaming services that carry the channels include Fubo TV, Philo, Sling TV, Vidgo and AT&T TV Now.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys covers the business of broadcast and streaming TV, radio broadcasting, social media, technology and telecommunications. A journalist for over 15 years, Matthew previously worked at Thomson Reuters, KGO-TV in San Francisco, KTXL in Sacramento and McNaughton Newspapers. He received 9 California Journalism Awards between 2018 and 2020, and is a member of IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors).
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