TelevisaUnivision and YouTube TV have failed to reach a new carriage deal before their current contract’s expiration on Tuesday, resulting in a blackout of the network’s programming for the latter’s roughly 10 million subscribers.
“TelevisaUnivision has over 160 million subscribers and billions of views across YouTube, where they generate ad revenue from their content. On our paid live TV subscription service, YouTube TV, however, TelevisaUnivision only represents a tiny fraction of overall consumption,” a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement. “Since we have not reached a new agreement with them, their content is no longer available on YouTube TV.”
In addition to TelevisaUnivision’s ViX streaming service, the network’s content is available on YouTube’s main platform, where they have more than 10 million subscribers. On average, there were over 9 billion views of Spanish language content daily on the main YouTube app globally in June. YouTube TV also offers news content through its recent renewal with Fox and new agreements with C-SPAN and OANN.
TelevisaUnivision began warning viewers of a potential programming blackout earlier this month.
At the time, it said the Google-owned platform was attempting to remove Univision from its core line-up and move it to a Spanish-only add-on package. It argued the move would force millions of Hispanic households to pay 18% more for its local news, live sports and entertainment content, calling it “discriminatory” and an “abuse of its market power.”
YouTube TV has argued that its carriage decisions are based on viewer consumption and pricing and that it offered a renewal that was “in line with the performance of their channel and the value of this content to YouTube TV subscribers today.”
In a statement on Tuesday, a TelevisaUnivision spokesperson blasted the Google-owned platform’s decision, arguing it is “stripping millions of Hispanic viewers of the Spanish-language news, sports, and entertainment they rely on every day.”
“Google’s actions are especially tone-deaf and egregious on the eve of a potential government shutdown, disregarding the appeals of government officials and Hispanic organizations who urged them to keep Univision on the main bundle,” the company added. “To add insult to injury, YouTube TV chose to take this step during Hispanic Heritage Month — an act that is deeply insensitive and offensive.”
It added that the “unfortunate mistake” is “easily reversible” and that its “always open to finding constructive ways for Hispanics to regain access to their trusted and critical content.”
The company added: “We remain steadfast in advocating for our audience and ensuring that YouTube TV subscribers know they have many options to continue watching Univision’s programming through other providers.”
The latest dispute for YouTube TV comes as its carriage talks with NBCUniversal remain ongoing, with their contract also set to expire Tuesday evening.
