Last month, Fox. This month, NBC.
As YouTube TV continues to grow and grow, it will experience the same periodic carriage issues that have popped up over the years for cable and satellite providers.
Via CNBC.com, the current deal between YouTube and NBCUniversal expires on September 30. As YouTube TV approaches 10 million users, it wants to pay less to its providers.
The report suggests that a blackout of NBC channels could happen. Which, obviously, would remove Sunday Night Football from the slate of offerings.
One unnamed source told CNBC.com, “only half-jokingly,” that YouTube TV “needs to make an example out of someone” in order to show that it’s serious about getting lower rates from the networks included in the service.
Another sticking point is Peacock pricing. YouTube TV hasn’t “been thrilled” with the number, believing it undermines the value of the NBC cable bundle. It’s one of the reasons why, per the report, Peacock increased its price in July 2025.
We’ll see where this one goes. The deadline arrives in only five days.
Last month, FCC chair Brendan Carr chimed in on the matter, telling Google (YouTube’s parent company) to get the Fox dispute resolved before the start of college football season. That was perceived as a favor to a network that enjoyed most-favored-nation status with the administration.
Will Carr, who has been in the headlines more recently regarding an issue at ABC, get involved in this one?
And, yes, PFT (which continues to be owned entirely by me) exclusively licenses its content to NBC. And I’m separately employed by NBC. And I’ll nevertheless repeat what was written last month, regarding the YouTube TV-Fox conflict: “In situations like this, each side paints the other as being unreasonable. For an agreement to be reached, the two sides need to bend a little. Or maybe a lot.”
YouTube TV and Fox worked out a deal before the deadline. If YouTube TV and NBC don’t, the availability of Sunday Night Football on the YouTube TV platform will be jeopardized, starting with Patriots-Bills in Week 5 and continuing with Lions-Chiefs in Week 6, Falcons-49ers in Week 7, and Packers-Steelers in Week 8.
