Fox Corp. and YouTube TV reached a short-term extension Wednesday as they work toward a resolution of their carriage renewal negotiations.
The current contract for the Fox broadcast network, Fox news and other linear channels had been set to expire Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET. While neither company was commenting on it publicly, sources familiar with the talks said an extension of an unspecified length had been reached. That usually signals a resolution is imminent.
The impasse, which broke into view at the start of this week, threatens to leave YouTube TV’s 8 million subscribers without access to key programming like Saturday’s Texas-Ohio State football game. The matchup of top-rated teams is high-profile enough to have caught the eye of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
“Google removing Fox channels from YouTube TV would be a terrible outcome,” Carr posted on X, even though the agency has no authority to intervene in the dispute. “Millions of Americans are relying on YouTube to resolve this dispute so they can keep watching the news and sports they want —including this week’s Big Game: Texas @ Ohio State. Get a deal done Google!”
YouTube responded with its own post on X. “We love football too @brendancarrfcc! We’re working hard to negotiate a deal that’s fair to Fox, our valued subscribers and all of our partners. Stay tuned.”
