Paramount, YouTube TV agree to last-minute extension to avoid blackout

By NewscastStudio • February 14, 2025

Broadcast Business News Cable Industry Streaming

Subscribe to NewscastStudio for the latest news, project case studies and product announcements in broadcast technology, creative design and engineering delivered to your inbox.

Paramount Global and YouTube TV have avoided a blackout — at least for now.

The two companies are engaged in a retransmission fee battle that has yet to be resolved.

CBS-owned stations and Paramount-owned cable networks such as MTV, BET, Paramount Network and others were originally supposed to go dark Feb. 13, 2024, at 11 p.m. eastern.

However, the two companies agreed to an extension within hours of the deadline to keep the channel live on YouTube TV.

It was not immediately clear how long the extension will last and the parties say they are still trying to strike a deal to avoid any blackouts.

As is typical, both sides are largely blaming the other. YouTube TV likely wants to keep its costs as low as possible as viewership of linear TV — even on a streaming vMVPD — are dipping. Paramount, on the other hand, feels YouTube TV’s terms don’t fit with its business needs and likely also wants to maintain the value of its channels as high as possible for as long as it can.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly described the availability of non-CBS-owned stations in the event a black out occurred.