TV Answer Man, I am a YouTube TV subscriber and I am confused about which local NBC channels we could lose. Will I lose my NBC channel in Syracuse here. I believe it’s only the stations that NBC owns, right? And our NBC station is owned by some other company. Can you clarify this for me? – Jamal, Syracuse, New York.
Update: YouTube TV and NBC sign short-term extension.
Update #2: Update: YouTube TV & NBC Close to Final Deal
Jamal, as you know, YouTube TV and NBCUniversal are engaged in a fee fight that could force the removal of NBC channels from the streamer by tomorrow night if a new carriage pact is not signed by then. NBC earlier this week said the channels affected include:
NBC, USA Network, Golf Channel, Bravo, MSNBC, E!, CNBC, Telemundo, Syfy, Oxygen, The Olympic Channel, Universal Kids, Universo, and the NBC sports regional networks in markets where they are available.
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And this is where the confusion begins.
Normally when NBC is involved in a carriage row with a pay TV provider, it only includes the 12 NBC-owned network affiliates in markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Washington, D.C., and the 30 NBC-owned Telemundo locals. Companies that own other NBC affiliates, such as Sinclair, which owns the Syracuse NBC affiliate, negotiate agreements with pay TV operators separately from NBCUniversal. (For instance, Sinclair is now negotiating with Dish for a new agreement to carry its 112 local stations, including several NBC affiliates.)
But some YouTube TV subscribers have sent e-mails to yours truly inquiring whether all NBC affiliates could be blacked out in the NBC dispute. So I asked NBC spokesman Pat Bunting if this was about all NBC affiliates or just the NBC-owned stations.
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His response: “All affiliates.”
I asked Bunting why the YouTube TV agreement includes all NBC affiliates rather than only the ones owned by NBC.
“The current pact is for NBCUniversal’s entire TV content portfolio, and in this special circumstance, it is inclusive of the affiliate stations (for) NBC and Telemundo,” Bunting said.
So there you have it. If a new agreement is not signed, YouTube TV subscribers could lose all NBC local stations.
Jamal, hope that helps. Happy viewing, and stay safe!
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Seems like NBC is getting desperate on this one. https://chromeunboxed.com/youtube-tv-nbc-peacock-dispute
Since YouTubeTV was small and new to the industry, NBC cut the original deal which included ALL affiliated as well as owned & operated stations. Since many NBC affiliates also have subchannels and/or are a part of a duopoly, this is why you don’t see these other stations carried as you would with a traditional cable or satellite carriage deal.
If Tegna, Sinclair, Allen, Nexstar or other station ownership groups handled the negotiation, these other channels would be included. You have to wonder if this will happen assuming the NBC negotiations falter. With online live broadcast platforms’ (you tubeTV, Hulu Live) explosive growth, at the expense of cable & satellite, you’d expect these broadcast groups to want to negotiate deals on their own,
Good insights.
The absolute worse
coverage of the Olympics ever!!!!
The absolute worst thing that happened to TV programing was not cable providers, but the notion of cable companies buying streams from content creators as a yearly subscription to offer their content. This basically removes ratings, and no longer holds channels responsible for consistent, competent creative programs. Yearly subscriptions are responsible for the BBC channel airing Star Trek reruns (how is this British?). Yearly subscriptions allow people hunting alligators on the History Channel (how is this history)? If shows airing actually relied on ratings, half of what’s on would be a welcome memory.
These Carrier vs Content Provider disputes are going on all the time and will continue. This is not just an AT&T thing. Just look at a couple of other articles on this website where Comcast lost the MSG Network. Yesterday Dish network lost Bally Sports and a couple other sports networks in another dispute. Unless an agreement was reached last night, YouTube stood to lose all NBC local stations. Get used to it. Your favorite channels can be here today, gone tomorrow no matter the carrier.