Less than a week after YouTube TV announced they were unable to reach an agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group and would subsequently drop FOX Regional Sports Networks from their lineup, the two sides found common ground.
Sinclair agreed to a deal that will see YouTube TV carry 19 of their 21 FOX RSNs. The two FOX RSNs left on the outside are in the two largest markets, the YES Network in New York and Prime Ticket and Fox Sports West in Los Angeles.
“We are pleased that YouTube TV was able to agree to terms on 19 of our RSNs and that they will continue to provide subscribers with access to some of the most in-demand sports networks in the nation,” said David Gibber, SVP and general counsel of Sinclair. “Millions of fans across the country tune into sports content daily and, at Sinclair, our goal is to make this as widely accessible as possible.”
But the YES Network was not nearly as pleased with the agreement between YouTube TV and Sinclair.
“YouTube TV, for its own selfish reasons and with total disregard for its YES customers, has refused to pay the market rate and accept market terms and conditions that other YES distributors have agreed to. In fact, YouTube TV sought a rate that was well below what other YES distributors are paying, and because YES keeps its word to all of its distributors, it could not make the deal,” YES Network said in a statement released on Twitter.
“When YouTube TV realized it could not get a sweetheart, below-market deal, it dropped the YES Network.”
“Sinclair, for its own reasons, elected to make a deal for some but not all of its programming services which excluded large-market RSNs featuring iconic franchises and star players. The New York Yankees have made it clear to Major League Baseball and YouTube TV that the Yankees will not appear on any national games televised by YouTube TV through its national telecast agreement with Major League Baseball. We urge all of our fans to go to YESNetwork.com to see the list of other streaming services and other distributors that carry the YES Network. With YouTube TV no longer carrying YES, it appears as though YouTube TV customers will pay the same while getting less,” the statement said.
Other streaming services that do offer YES are Hulu Live TV and AT&T TV Now. Also left out of the deal with YouTube TV is Sinclair’s Marquee Sports Network, the new TV home of the Chicago Cubs. Marquee recently announced a partnership with Hulu, allowing in-market fans to stream Cubs games on the platform.