Google, NBCUniversal Strike Agreement for Shows on YouTube TV

Google and NBCUniversal reached a multi-year agreement on Oct. 2 to keep NBC shows, including “Sunday Night Football” and “America’s Got Talent,” on YouTube TV.

YouTube TV—an asset of Google’s parent company Alphabet and one of the United States’ largest pay-TV distributors—will retain NBCUniversal’s full portfolio of networks, including NBC and CNBC, under the new deal, a statement from the companies on Thursday confirmed.

YouTube will also provide access to NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service in its Primetime Channels, a marketplace that offers third-party streaming services through the YouTube app. Comcast owns NBCUniversal.

“This deal builds on our longstanding partnership with NBCU while addressing the evolving media landscape and recognizing the importance of making content available where and how viewers want to watch it,” said Justin Connolly, global head of media and sports at YouTube.

The agreement will also see a multi-year extension of Peacock’s presence on Google’s Android platforms, including Google TV and Google Play.

YouTube has now pushed ahead of streaming rival Netflix and traditional media giant Disney to take the largest share of TV viewership in the United States, according to data from analytics firm Nielsen.

Negotiations with NBCUniversal were gridlocked over the rates YouTube TV would pay to offer NBCUniversal’s shows on its platform.

On Oct. 1, the two companies brokered a short-term contract extension to avoid a blackout and to guarantee YouTube TV subscribers kept access to NBCUniversal networks and shows while talks continued.

YouTube TV is one of the four largest pay-TV distributors in the United States, giving its parent company, Alphabet, some recent leverage over Paramount Skydance and Fox Corp in carriage negotiations, according to analysts and media firms.

YouTube said in late August that if it did not reach a deal with Fox Corp over access to Fox channels on YouTube TV by Aug. 27, several of the channels, including Fox Sports, Business, and News, would become unavailable on the TV streaming app.

“We value our partnership with Fox and will continue our discussions toward reaching a deal that keeps their content on YouTube TV,” the company wrote in a blog post.

Days later, YouTube announced it had reached an agreement with Fox Corp.

“We’re happy to share that we’ve reached an agreement with Fox to keep their content on YouTube TV, preserve the value of our service for our subscribers, and offer more flexibility in the future,” YouTube said.

“This means that Fox channels, including the Fox Broadcast Network, Fox News, and Fox Sports, remain available for our subscribers along with 100+ channels, and football fans will not miss any of the action this weekend.”

Victoria Friedman and Reuters contributed to this report.