Key Points:
- A dispute over fees may force Google-backed YouTube TV to pull channels owned by Fox on Wednesday.
- YouTube will give $10 bill credits if Fox-owned channels like Fox News and Fox Sports 1 are dropped.
- Other streaming providers offer Fox News, Fox Sports and local Fox stations, including DirecTV (starts at $35 per month with this promotion), Fubo (starts at $55 per month with this promotion) and Hulu with Live TV (starts at $83 per month, includes Disney Plus and Hulu).
- Sling TV offers Fox News in its “Sling Select” package, which includes NFL Network at $20 per month.
Google-backed YouTube TV is warning customers that it may be forced to drop Fox-owned broadcast channels and cable networks by the middle of this week.
In a note sent to subscribers and reviewed by The Desk, YouTube said it was in “active negotiations” with Fox Corporation over the continued distribution of its Fox-owned local TV channels and national cable networks like Fox News, Fox Business Network, Fox Weather, Fox Sports 1 (FS1) and Fox Sports 2 (FS2).
As is typical in disputes like this, YouTube says Fox is demanding “payments that are far higher than what partners with comparable content offerings receive.” Fox is allowed to charge cable, satellite and streaming cable TV alternatives, including YouTube, for the rights to redistribute their channels to paying subscribers.
“Our priority is to reach a deal that reflects the value of their content and is fair for both sides without passing on additional costs to our subscribers,” YouTube said. The company has offered $10 bill credits to customers if Fox channels are dropped on Wednesday, timed to coincide with the expiration of its current distribution agreement.
In a statement of its own, Fox executives say they’re still committed to reaching a “fair agreement” with YouTube and Google, but accused the tech company of exploiting “its outsized influence by proposing terms that are out of step with the marketplace.”
“We are alerting Fox viewers who are YouTube TV subscribers that they could lose access to much of their favorite news, sports, entertainment and local station programming unless Google engages in a meaningful way soon,” Fox said.
The following national channels will be affected by the loss of Fox-owned stations on YouTube TV if a new agreement is not reached by Wednesday:
- Fox News Channel
- Fox Business Network
- Fox Weather
- Big 10 Network
- Fox Sports 1
- Fox Sports 2
- Fox Deportes
Viewers in a number of cities will also lose access to these local Fox-owned stations:
- KCPQ (Channel 13), Seattle–Tacoma, WA
- KCOP (Channel 13), Los Angeles, CA
- KDFI (Channel 27), Dallas–Fort Worth, TX
- KDFW (Channel 4), Dallas–Fort Worth, TX
- KFTC (Channel 26), Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN
- KICU-TV (Channel 36), San Francisco–Oakland, CA
- KMSP-TV (Channel 9), Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN
- KRIV (Channel 26), Houston, TX
- KSAZ-TV (Channel 10), Phoenix, AZ
- KTBC (Channel 7), Austin, TX
- KTTV (Channel 11), Los Angeles, CA
- KTXH (Channel 20), Houston, TX
- KTVU (Channel 2), San Francisco–Oakland, CA
- KUTP (Channel 45), Phoenix, AZ
- KZJO (Channel 22), Seattle–Tacoma, WA
- WAGA-TV (Channel 5), Atlanta, GA
- WDCA (Channel 20), Washington, D.C.
- WFLD (Channel 32), Chicago, IL
- WFTC (Channel 9.2), Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN
- WITI (Channel 6), Milwaukee, WI
- WJBK (Channel 2), Detroit, MI
- WNYW (Channel 5), New York, NY
- WOGX (Channel 51), Ocala–Gainesville, FL
- WOFL (Channel 35), Orlando–Daytona Beach, FL
- WPWR-TV (Channel 50), Chicago, IL
- WRBW (Channel 65), Orlando–Daytona Beach, FL
- WTTG (Channel 5), Washington, D.C.
- WTXF-TV (Channel 29), Philadelphia, PA
- WTVT (Channel 13), Tampa–St. Petersburg, FL
- WWOR-TV (Channel 9), New York, NY
The dispute comes less than a week after Fox introduced its own direct-to-consumer streaming service called Fox One, which offers programming from Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Weather and local Fox stations for $20 per month. Fox News is also available through the “Sling Select” package, which costs the same $20 per month and includes NFL Network.
In addition to Fox One and Sling, Fox-owned broadcast and cable channels are available through a number of streaming platforms like DirecTV, Hulu with Live TV and Fubo at varying price points.
The dispute is the latest in a string of high-profile carriage battles. Earlier this year, YouTube TV nearly lost channels from Paramount Global, including CBS and Nickelodeon, before the companies struck a deal. Last year, a fight between Disney and Charter Communications resulted in Disney’s channels, including ABC and ESPN, going dark for more than a week before the parties reached an agreement.
