Kirby Lee/Imagn
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With March Madness just over a month away, we’re nearing a dire scenario where millions of fans won’t be able to watch the beloved college basketball tournament. On Wednesday, YouTube TV announced that it had “been unable to reach a fair deal with Paramount to keep their channels.” Because of the dispute, 24 channels disappeared from the YouTube TV listings on Thursday.
Those channels include CBS, CBS Sports Network, which play host to a massive number of first and second round games in the NCAA Tournament. However, it appears that YouTube TV subscribers will still have access to TNT, TBS and Tru TV, which also broadcast games.
“We understand how frustrating and disruptive this is for our users. We’re committed to continuing conversations with Paramount to advocate for you and hope to keep their channels on YouTube TV,” YouTube said in a statement. If no agreement is reached for an extended time, we’ll offer members an $8 credit. You can watch Paramount shows/movies on the Paramount+ streaming service, starting at $7.99/mo.”
Fans Have Alternate Ways To Watch March Madness Amid YouTube TV Dispute
The last part of that statement is vital to college basketball fans. The $8 credit amounts to the cost of a Paramount+ subscription. So fans could well apply that money to a subscription and still view games. The other option is for fans to watch games on CBS over the air. They could purchase an antenna gain access to all local over-the-air networks.
While it’s not ideal, there are workarounds. But at one point, YouTube TV was considered the gold standard of streaming television options. It appears that’s no longer the case. And the fall off comes at perhaps the worst time imaginable for sports fans.
Hopefully YouTube TV and Paramount can reach an agreement. But the clock is ticking.