According to a post on the official YouTube blog, Fox News, Fox Business, and Fox Sports will all go dark on YouTube TV if Fox and YouTube owner Google can't resolve their differences by 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday August 27—tomorrow.
On a website presenting its own side of the dispute, Fox adds a few more channels that may fade out on YouTube TV, including FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, Fox Desportes, the Fox News Channel, and local Fox channels, which carry (among other shows) Sunday NFL matchups.
The short version of the dustup is that Fox and YouTube TV can't agree on the terms of an upcoming carriage renewal, with each side accusing the other of being greedy, stingy, a bully, or some mixture therein.
For its part, YouTube claims that Fox is "asking for payments that are far higher than what partners with comparable content offerings receive," while adding that YouTube wants 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." So yes, YouTube is raising the specter of price increases if Fox gets it way.
On the flip side, Fox says it's "proposing a fair, comprehensive deal" while accusing Google of "continually exploit[ing] its outsized influence by proposing terms that are out of step with the marketplace."
It's bellicose language, all right, but
|
