YouTube TV, Paramount strike deal to avoid March Madness crisis
Take a sigh of relief, college basketball and golf fans who use YouTube TV.
Crisis has been averted.
YouTube TV and Paramount reached a deal Friday night.
The deal means YouTube TV will continue carrying CBS, CBS sports and the rest of Paramount’s channels on its platform.
“Members, we’re happy to share that we’ve reached a deal to continue carrying Paramount content on YouTube TV,” the streaming platform said in a statement. “That means you still have access to channels like CBS, CBS Sports, and Nickelodeon. Add-ons like Paramount+ with SHOWTIME and BET+ also remain uninterrupted.”
On Wednesday, YouTube TV announced that “despite our best efforts, we’ve been unable to reach a fair deal with Paramount to keep their channels on YouTube TV and their channels may be unavailable tomorrow,” just weeks before March Madness and the Masters are set to be broadcast on CBS and other Paramount channels.
It sent college basketball and golf fans who use YouTube TV into a panic.
NFL games on CBS were also at risk of being lost on the platform.
YouTube TV has previously lost other channels that sports fans crave — most notably MLB network.
Additionally, it lost local sports channels SNY and YES.
But YouTube TV reached a short-term extension with Paramount on Thursday and then announced the full extension on Friday.
