What you need to know
- Paramount channels will be available on YouTube TV for the foreseeable future as the two sides reached an agreement.
- The deal comes after the two sides publicly struggled to find what YouTube TV described as “a fair deal.”
- The negotiations came shortly after YouTube TV raised prices by $10 per month.
Paramount channels were briefly in jeopardy of becoming unavailable on YouTube TV, but the two sides were able to reach an agreement to keep Paramount’s 34 channels on the live TV streaming service. YouTube TV announced the deal on Feb. 15, following a days-long ordeal that saw Paramount run “Keep Paramount” ads on social media and YouTube TV criticize the company for not offering “a fair deal.”
“We’re happy to share that we’ve reached a deal to continue carrying Paramount channels, including CBS, CBS Sports, Nickelodeon and more,” wrote YouTube TV in the blog post. “To our subscribers, we appreciate your patience while we negotiated on your behalf.”
YouTube TV says the agreement will keep over 100 channels available on the live TV service. It’ll also provide Paramount add-ons, like Paramount Plus with SHOWTIME. Paramount offers over 30 channels on YouTube TV, including heavy-hitters like CBS and CBS Sports. High-profile sporting events — including March Madness (the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament) and The Masters — are set to air on the networks in the coming months.
That, paired with YouTube TV’s $10 price hike last month, set the service up for a potential disaster if it couldn’t reach a deal.
Things started out dire on Feb. 12, when YouTube TV warned customers that Paramount channels could disappear from the service as early as the end of the following day. It followed up with an update Feb. 13 that YouTube TV reached “a short-term extension” with Paramount while the negotiations continued. In the event it couldn’t reach a long-term deal, YouTube TV threw out the idea of offering customers a credit that would allow them to subscribe to Paramount Plus.
In the end, that wasn’t necessary, because the two sides have figured out an agreement. It’s not the first time YouTube TV has had issues keeping channels available. Recently, YouTube TV fixed a problem affecting free channels.