Fox and YouTube TV announced a renewal of their carriage agreement on Thursday, ending a dispute that could have left subscribers to the streaming platform without access to sports content as the college football and NFL seasons begin.
The renewal is for the full portfolio of Fox networks, including the Fox broadcast network, Fox News, FS1 and the Big Ten Network. Financial terms were not disclosed, nor was the length of the deal, and a Fox spokesperson told The Athletic that there were “no further details to share” at this time.
YouTube announced the deal in a blog post on Thursday.
“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,” the company said. “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.”
The sides initially had until 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday to reach a deal, but announced a short-term extension in negotiations that night, signaling the potential for an imminent deal.
The agreement comes as a relief to sports fans who subscribe to YouTube TV, as Fox Sports has a number of college football and NFL games on its properties. Among those is Saturday’s premier college football matchup between No. 1 Texas and No. 3 Ohio State on Fox. Fox also begins showing regular-season NFL games on Sunday, Sept. 7.
The deal ended some contentious back-and-forth between Fox and YouTube earlier in the days leading up to Wednesday’s deadline.
In a blog post Monday, YouTube TV asserted that Fox was “asking for payments that are far higher than what partners with comparable content offerings receive. Our priority is to reach a deal that reflects the value of their content and is fair for both sides without passing on additional costs to our subscribers.”
In a responding statement, Fox said: “While Fox remains committed to reaching a fair agreement with Google’s YouTube TV, we are disappointed that Google continually exploits its outsized influence by proposing terms that are out of step with the marketplace.”
Last week, Fox launched a direct-to-consumer streaming service called FOX One. The service includes Fox Sports properties and is priced at $19.99 per month with a seven-day free trial or $199.99 per year.
(Photo: Troy Taormina / Imagn Images)