YouTube TV customers are in for a disappointment, with the company revealing that it will likely use access to Paramount channels on February 13.
YouTube TV (YTTV) is the leading live TV streaming service, offering the best blend of channels, price, and additional features, such as unlimited DVR. Being backed by Google has also given YTTV a bargaining power that many competitors can’t match.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t stopped YTTV and Paramount from reaching an impasse in their negotiations. Google informed customers Wednesday evening, February 12.
With YouTube TV, our goal is to offer you the content you love, delivered the way you want it. To make this happen, we enter into agreements with network partners to make their content available on YouTube TV. As such, we’ve been negotiating with Paramount to reach a fair agreement that allows us to keep their channels, including CBS, on YouTube TV without compromising the value of our service. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we’ve been unable to reach an agreement.
On February 13, 2025, all Paramount channels will likely become unavailable on YouTube TV. If this happens, this will impact previous Library recordings from these channels, Paramount content in the Entertainment Plus package, and add-on services like Paramount+ with SHOWTIME and BET+. Should Paramount content become unavailable, we will continue to update our Help Center with the latest.
We know how frustrating and disruptive it is to lose channels you enjoy on YouTube TV, and we’re committed to providing you with the best possible entertainment experience. That’s why we’ll continue advocating on your behalf to offer you more flexibility in how you watch your favorite sports and shows while preserving the value of our service. It’s our goal to restore Paramount content to YouTube TV, but if we do not come to an agreement and their content is unavailable for an extended period of time, we’ll offer our YouTube TV subscribers an $8 credit. You can still watch Paramount shows and movies by signing up for their streaming service, Paramount+, starting at $7.99/month. For more information on how we’re addressing our Paramount+, BET+, and Entertainment Plus subscribers, please visit our Help Center.
YTTV says it will continue to try to resolve the issue with Paramount. Ultimately, a possible resolution will hinge on whether Paramount believes it can pick up enough Paramount+ subscribers to offset losing Google/YTTV as a distribution partner.