YouTube TV and Paramount Global on Brink of Carriage

Paramount Global warns of a threatening carriage van with YouTube TV, which means channels like CBS, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and others could become dark Thursday for millions of subscribers.

“We have made a number of fair offers to continue our many years of relationship with Google’s YouTube TV, which gives subscribers access to the full selection of Paramount’s entertainment, news and sports programming,” a paramount spokesman said in a statement made to Deadline.

The statement notes that Paramount has reached renewals with several distributors in recent months. Streaming of stores Paramount+ and Bet+ could also be removed from YouTube’s Channel Store, Paramount said.

“YouTube TV is trying to push of the greatest importance for accepting unilateral terms, and these non-market requirements can lead to an avoidable loss of paramount’s network,” the statement added.

Paramount Co-Ceos George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins, who are already trying to manage the company for a delicate period as it seems to close a $ 8 billion merger with Skydance Media, communicated the situation to the employees of a memo. (Read the memo fully below.)

In a blog post, YouTube TV did not sound very optimistic about a last minute postponement. It said it was planning to repay customers $ 8 for an expected lapse in Paramount programming and also suggested that subscribers sign up for Paramount+, which carry a number of company shows.

“We have worked hard to reach a fair deal with Paramount that allows us to keep their channels, including CBS and CBS SPORTS, on YouTube TV without. “Unfortunately, despite our good faith -negotiations, we have unfortunately not been successful yet.” (Read it fully below.)

Since launching in 2017, YouTube TV has grown to one of the dominant pay TV providers in the US and reach 8 million subscribers from last year. It recently phased in its second price increase in the last year and a half, with the monthly increase of $ 18 that reflects the technology giant’s growing leverage in the market. YouTube TV added the NFL Sunday Ticket in 2022, a step that cost several billion dollars, but also gave a shock to subscribers to paid.

The Kingdom of Payment TV Distribution, long inclined to violate transport fees and contract terms, which often result in blackouts, have become even more disputed in the current era with a sear. Programmers like Paramount manage a stable loss of millions of video customers while trying to scale their directly to consumer streaming services. Disney has had great friction with charter communication and Directv in the last few years, as these operators have broken according to Disney’s demands for higher fees.

Here’s the Paramount’s full internal memo:

Team,

Our commitment to partnership is a true differentiator, including our successful track record to get greater offers that emphasize the demand for our premium portfolio of entertainment, news and sports networks. The reality is that you cannot have a successful video product without paramount, one of the leading media families in television viewing.

We also continue to modernize and expand our relationship with distributors to create mutually advantageous value – which not only drives our own business forward, but also helps transform the industry to better serve the audience.

In the same spirit of partnership, Paramount has negotiated a renewal agreement with Google to provide YouTube TV subscribers with continued access to their preferred premium content from Bet, CBS, CBS Sports Network, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network and more. Unfortunately, Google is unwilling to accept reasonable terms that comply with the market and choose to bring the entertainment experience at the expense of consumers.

As a result, we begin tonight warning about subscribers that Google can drop all the most important channels, in addition to Paramount+ and Bet+ from YouTube Primetime channels when our contract expires on February 13. Many of you, your families and friends can be YouTube TV subscribers, then feel free to share a link to Keepparamount.com, which will be updated with relevant news and information.

We are still hopeful that we can reach an agreement that fairly recognizes the full power of our brands and popular programming. Thank you to everyone for your hard work, support and dedication to our audience and partners. We will update you as this situation develops in the coming days.

Best,

George, Chris, Brian

Here is YouTube TV’s blog post:

We have worked hard to reach a fair deal with Paramount that allows us to keep their channels, including CBS and CBS SPORTS, on YouTube TV without passing on extra costs to our subscribers. Despite our good faith -negotiations, unfortunately, we have not been successful yet.

We understand how disappointing and disturbing it is to lose channels you enjoy on YouTube TV, so here’s what you need to know:

After 13 February 2025, Everything crucial contentIncluding CBS and CBS SPORTS will be unavailable on YouTube TV.

This also means that subscribers are unable to access previous library recordings from these channels or Add-on services Including Paramount+ with Showtime and Bet+.

We are required to give you the best possible value and entertainment experience. That’s why we are fighting for a deal that avoids passing on extra costs and gives you more flexibility in how to see your favorite sports and shows.

We are still actively negotiating with paramount and keeping you up to date on our progress. If we are unable to reach an appointment and their content is not available for an extended period of time we offer subscribers a credit of $ 8. You can still watch the paramount show and movies by signing up for their streaming service, paramount+that starts at $ 7.99 a month.

Paramount is an important partner for us and as you can imagine, this is not the result we want. We are still in active conversations with paramount and are hopeful that we can come to an appointment to keep their content available on YouTube TV.