TV Answer Man, I still can’t download YouTube TV from the Channel Store on Roku. Are they still fighting? Is there anything new that suggests this will change? — Genny, Fairfax, Virginia. 

Genny, on April 30, Roku was forced to remove YouTube TV from its Channel Store when its carriage agreement with the multi-channel, live streamer’s owner, Google, expired. However, Roku customers who previously downloaded the YouTube TV app could continue to use it.

Since the battle began, Google cleverly added a link to YouTube TV on the navigation bar of its Roku app for YouTube, which continues to be available on the device. You can learn more about that here. This permits Roku users to access YouTube TV even though the app is still not in the Roku Channel Store.

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Other than that, there has been no change in the dispute. YouTube’s Twitter customer service team has advised users to use the workaround link on the YouTube app. If the YouTube TV link isn’t there, @TeamYouTube suggests deleting and reinstalling the app. And if that doesn’t work, YouTube says you should try to re-set your Roku. The device’s customer service team agrees here.

Because there is a workaround, I don’t expect the two companies to settle this dispute anytime soon, perhaps not until late this year when Roku’s carriage agreement for the YouTube app is expected to expire. At that point, Google and Roku can negotiate terms for both YouTube and YouTube TV.

There is less pressure on the companies to find a solution now with the workaround in place.

Genny, hope that makes sense. Happy viewing, and stay safe!

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— Phillip Swann