YouTube TV is very lucky that football season just ended.
Due to evidently unsatisfactory contract negotiations, Google’s cable alternative streaming service (of which I am a subscriber) will drop all Paramount channels after Feb. 13. That’s today, in case you hadn’t checked the calendar yet. The measure was announced on YouTube’s blog and in an email to subscribers, claiming Google’s “good faith negotiations” haven’t yet found a resolution.
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Anyone who has ever subscribed to a cable or satellite service has probably dealt with this before. When it’s time to negotiate a new contract, one side wants more than the other is willing to offer, and the resulting standstill creates a situation where subscribers suddenly get a lot less than what they paid for. In YouTube TV’s case, customers are now paying $82.99/mo for a service that doesn’t include any of the following:
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CBS
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CBS Sports
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MTV
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BET
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Nickelodeon
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Comedy Central
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VH1
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Paramount Network
CBS is one of America’s primary live sports broadcasters, so if this had happened even a month earlier during football season, there may have been riots in the streets. If this continues into March, YouTube TV customers will miss NCAA basketball tournament games. For now, we’ll just have to wait until both sides figure this out.
