YouTube TV Drops Sinclair Stations (Does This Mean a Price Cut?)
UPDATE: YouTube and Sinclair Reach an Agreement - More details are here...
YouTube TV after 2/29, will remove the Sinclair Broadcast Group stations - FOX Regional Sports Networks and YES Network from it's platform due to a carrier dispute.
Because YouTube TV could not reach a deal with Fox, subscribers now once again will lose the Sinclair Stations they enjoy. And with no mention anywhere of compensation.
Many of these are local channels from cities across the country.
Think of it this way, you go out for dinner at a really nice restaurant, and order an expensive steak dinner. Which included a salad and baked potato. But since the waitress and chef could not come to terms on how the stake should be cooked, it was left taken off your plate.
So there you are, eating your baked potato and salad with no steak. And when it comes time to pay the bill, you are still being charged for the steak anyway. Because it was part of the combo that you ordered.
This is how crazy network content distribution battles have become. And while the subscriber is the looser because they lose out on channels they enjoy. The content distributer still charges the same amount and gets to pocket the difference.
Subscribers Fight Back By Dumping YouTube TV
If you look at their Twitter feed where YouTube announced the news that they would be dumping Sinclair stations, the comments quickly show you how unhappy their subscribers are. Many are dumping YouTube TV in favor of Hulu Live which still carries these same channels.
YouTube TV should have done a little better by their subscribers than just casually announcing that the channels will no longer be available.
A $5/month price cut would have gone a long way in making this news a little easier to swallow. Instead of just handing their customers a bitter pill and saying here take this. And hopefully, it was really about increased fees and not motivated by politics.
Some subscribers really couldn't care less though. Especially, since these are not the channels they watch. And some even went as far as dogging out Sinclair for its politically right leaning slant. "Sinclair is Trump's State TV." One Twitter commenter wrote. And while politics does create strong passions, this attitude is really a shortsighted way of looking at the problem.
While this week it's Sinclair channels that are leaving, next week it could be MSNBC and CNN they decide to dump. In order to put profits ahead of customers needs. So everyone, should equally be up in arms no matter which channels they black out.
A Price Should Be Paid On Both Sides
It's unfortunate that channel blackouts are becoming all too common these days. And it's the customer that is left holding the bag for this stalemate. Until both content providers and broadcasters equally share the cost, then we may see less of these strong arm negotiating tactics.
In the meantime, all subscribers can do is dump one provider for another that provides the channels they need. And choose either Hulu with Live TV or AT&T TV Now. Because these are now the only two options for streaming TV with Fox Regional Sports Networks.
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