After a week of back and forth between NBCUniversal and YouTube TV, the two agreed to a short-term extension tonight and will continue negotiating.
An NBCUniversal spokesperson sent the following statement to Cord Cutters News: “NBCUniversal and YouTube TV have agreed to a short extension while parties continue talks. NBCUniversal will not go dark on YouTube TV at midnight eastern tonight.”
We first reported on the dispute on Sunday, when NBCUniversal sent the following statement: “NBCUniversal is seeking fair rates from Google for YouTube TV’s continued carriage of the only portfolio offering entertainment, Hispanic, news and sports networks. Unfortunately, Google is refusing to make a deal at these fair rates and is willing to withhold entertainment, news and sports programming from their paying customers. NBCUniversal feels a responsibility to inform our fans that they are at risk of losing their favorite shows if Google continues with their demands.”
YouTube TV posted a response on the YouTube blog, saying that if the channels were removed, they would lower the price of the streaming service by $10/month “while this content remains off our platform.” In that post, YouTube TV let subscribers know they always have the option to pause their subscription and come back later, saying, “While we would love every member to continue to stay with our service, we understand that you may still choose to pause or cancel your membership. We want to make YouTube TV flexible, so members can pause or cancel anytime. We will give you updates as negotiations continue.”
YouTube TV then emailed subscribers, recommending that they use that $10 to subscribe to Peacock Premium for $4.99/month to continue watching NBC content. The email did not sound optimistic about a deal being reached before the deadline, giving subscribers a hint that they should look elsewhere if they wanted to continue to have access to all 14 channels.
If YouTube TV and NBC are unable to come to an agreement after the extension, YouTube TV subscribers will no longer have access to the following channels: NBC, Bravo, CNBC, E!, Golf Channel, MSNBC, Oxygen, SYFY, Telemundo, The Olympic Channel, Universal Kids, Universo, and USA Network, as well as NBC Sports Regional Networks.
Subscribers who choose to leave YouTube TV can watch some sports and shows from NBC’s networks including NBC, USA, Bravo, and Oxygen with a subscription to Peacock. To get all of the 14 channels that will be removed, subscribers can switch to Hulu with Live or fuboTV.