A carriage dispute between YouTube TV and Fox has now officially come to an end. With a new distribution deal in place, the channels at the center of the dispute will remain available to YouTube TV subscribers for the foreseeable future.
This dispute started on Tuesday, when YouTube began warning YouTube TV subscribers that a number of channels, including Fox, Fox News and Fox Sports, were at risk of being removed from the YouTube TV channel lineup.
At that time, YouTube confirmed that the channels were due to be removed from YouTube TV at 5pm ET on August 27, if a new deal was not agreed.
While a deal wasn’t agreed by the deadline, the two sides did agree a temporary extension on Wednesday to allow negotiations to continue.
Late last night, YouTube provided another update, confirming that a full agreement had now been reached, and the channels were no longer at risk of removal.
“We’re happy to share that we’ve reached an agreement with Fox to keep their content on YouTube TV, preserve the value of our service for our subscribers and offer more flexibility in the future. This means that Fox channels, including the Fox Broadcast Network, Fox News, and Fox Sports, remain available for our subscribers along with 100+ channels and football fans will not miss any of the action this weekend,” YouTube said.
While the dispute is now over, the new agreement raises some additional questions.
Firstly, as the dispute revolved around the fees paid to Fox, it now remains unclear whether a YouTube TV price increase is now looming on the horizon.
Secondly, YouTube’s comment on offering “more flexibility in the future” raises the possibility that new plans or options might become available in the future.
The availability of skinnier packages has become more common in recent months with DirecTV launching its various Genre Packs, Sling TV launching a new Sling Select plan, and Fubo due to launch a new Fubo Sports package next week.
Based on the statement provided, it is possible that a skinnier YouTube TV package could be coming at some point in the future.
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