YouTube TV May Soon Lose Paramount Channels
Cord-cutting has taken a funny turn over the past few years, as every production company under the sun seems to want to create its own a la carte subscription service, and former cable TV alternatives have started offering, essentially, their own cable TV packages. That’s the case with YouTube TV , a separate subscription from YouTube Premium that allows users to watch live TV over the Internet, but which could soon lose access to several key channels.
According to YouTube , the company is currently in talks with Paramount to continue offering channels like Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central MTV, VH1, and heck, even CBS and CBS Sports. YouTube TV currently costs a starting price of $70 per month for the first six months, and then $83 per month after that, so that’s a pretty significant loss for an expensive package.
It’s unclear exactly what YouTube’s fight is here, although the company says it is “still in active discussions with Paramount” about keeping these channels without raising prices for subscribers. However, YouTube has explicitly stated that it “hasn’t made it yet” and that if it doesn’t reach a deal by the end of the week, February 14th will be the day those channels leave the service.
If this happens, subscribers will also lose access to any recordings they’ve already made from those channels and will no longer be able to sign up for additional packages, including Paramount+ with Showtime or BET+.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. YouTube says that if it can’t reach a deal with Paramount and its “content is unavailable for an extended period of time,” it will give subscribers an $8 credit toward a self-subscription to Paramount+. However, there is currently no information on whether this credit will be repeated – I have reached out to YouTube and will update this article as soon as I hear back.
However, even with the promise of a loan, the situation is not ideal. In my opinion, part of the appeal of an expensive subscription like YouTube TV is the security of knowing that you simply have access to everything you might want to watch without having to juggle five or so a la carte subscriptions anymore. Losing Paramount channels, even if you can then pay for Paramount+ at Google’s expense, is something of a thorn in the side of this plan.