Paramount Global is warning of a looming carriage impasse with YouTube TV, meaning channels like CBS, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and others could go dark Thursday for millions of subscribers.
“We have made a series of fair offers to continue our long-standing relationship with Google’s YouTube TV, providing subscribers access to the full array of Paramount’s entertainment, news and sports programming,” a spokesperson for Paramount said in a statement provided to Deadline.
The statement goes on to note that Paramount has reached renewals with multiple distributors in recent months. Streaming outlets Paramount+ and BET+ could also be removed from YouTube’s channel store, Paramount said.
“YouTube TV is attempting to pressure Paramount to agree to one-sided terms, and these non-market demands may lead to an avoidable loss of Paramount’s networks,” the statement added.
Paramount Co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins, who are already trying to steer the company through a delicate period as it looks to close an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, communicated the situation to employees in a memo. (Read the memo in full below.)
Since launching in 2017, YouTube TV has grown into one of the dominant pay-TV providers in the U.S., reaching 8 million subscribers as of last year. It recently phased in its second price hike in the past year and a half, a reflection of its growing leverage in the marketplace. YouTube TV added NFL Sunday Ticket in 2022, a move that cost several billion dollars but also yielded a bump in subscribers to the pay bundle.
The realm of pay-TV distribution, always prone to squabbles over carriage fees and deal terms, which have often resulted in blackouts, has become even more contentious in the current era due to cord-cutting. Programmers like Paramount are coping with a steady decline in video customers while at the same time trying to scale their direct-to-consumer streaming services. Disney has had major friction with Charter Communications and DirecTV over the past couple of years as those operators have bridled at Disney’s demands for higher fees.
Here is the full internal memo:
Team,
Our commitment to partnership is a true differentiator, including our successful track record of getting major deals done that underscore the demand for our premium portfolio of entertainment, news and sports networks. The reality is, you can’t have a successful video product without Paramount, one of the leading media families in TV viewing.
We also continue to modernize and broaden our relationships with distributors to create mutually beneficial value — driving not only our own business forward but also helping to transform the industry to better serve audiences.
In that same spirit of partnership, Paramount has been negotiating a renewal agreement with Google to provide YouTube TV subscribers with continued access to their favorite premium content from BET, CBS, CBS Sports Network, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network and more. Unfortunately, Google is unwilling to agree to reasonable terms consistent with the market, choosing to jeopardize the entertainment experience at the expense of consumers.
As a result, tonight we will begin warning subscribers that Google may drop all Paramount channels, in addition to Paramount+ and BET+ from YouTube Primetime Channels, when our contract expires on February 13. Many of you, your families and friends may be YouTube TV subscribers, so please feel free to share a link to KeepParamount.com, which will be updated with relevant news and information.
We remain hopeful that we can reach an agreement that fairly recognizes the full power of our brands and popular programming. Thank you to everyone for your hard work, support and dedication to our audiences and partners. We’ll update you as this situation develops in the coming days.
Best,
George, Chris, Brian
