After today, February 13, you will no longer have access to CBS and CBS Sports, as well as other Paramount channels, through YouTube TV. In its announcement, YouTube said it is in the middle of negotiations with the company to be able to continue offering its channels. YouTube says it is “fighting for an agreement that will avoid passing on additional costs” to you, which suggests that they cannot agree on a financial deal that will work for both of them, as well as give you “more flexibility in how you watch your favorite sports programs and shows.”
In addition to CBS and CBS Sports, channels such as Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central, MTV, and VH1 are affected. Several YouTube TV apps, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, will also no longer be available. YouTube started adding Paramount channels to its lineup in 2020, when YouTube TV still cost $50 per month. Today, the live TV streaming service will cost $70 per month for the first half of the year and then $83 per month thereafter.
YouTube says that if it is unable to reach an agreement with Paramount and the company’s content becomes unavailable for an “extended period of time,” it will give you an $8 credit. Surprisingly, YouTube advises viewers who want to have constant access to network shows to subscribe to the Paramount+ streaming service, which costs at least $8 per month.
Paramount has also started to warn subscribers that they will not be able to access its channels through YouTube TV for the time being, and has even published a website informing them of this. On the website, the company wrote that it had made “a number of fair offers” to keep the channels on the service. “YouTube TV is attempting to pressure Paramount into agreeing to unilateral terms, and these non-market demands could result in the avoidable loss of Paramount’s networks on YouTube TV, in addition to the removal of Paramount+ and BET+ from YouTube’s prime time channels on February 13,” a Paramount spokesperson told Engadget. “Paramount has a long track record of successfully and amicably renewing partnerships with all major distributors, including several in recent months, and we will continue our efforts to reach a new agreement with YouTube TV,” the company also said.
