FOX and YouTube TV have reached a comprehensive carriage agreement, ending a dispute that threatened coverage of college and professional football at the start of the 2025 season. The deal, finalized late Thursday, ensures that FOX channels, including the Fox Broadcast Network, Fox News, Fox Sports, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, and local FOX stations, will remain available to YouTube TV’s estimated 9.4 million subscribers, making it the fourth-largest pay-TV distributor in the U.S.
“We’re happy to share that we’ve reached a deal with Fox to keep their content on YouTube TV,” YouTube TV’s statement read. “This means that Fox channels, including the Fox Broadcast Network, Fox News, and Fox Sports, remain available, and football fans will not miss any of the action this weekend.”
The announcement came just days ahead of the highly anticipated college football clash on August 30 between No. 1 Texas and No. 3 defending national champion Ohio State, broadcast on FOX.
The dispute centered on programming fees. YouTube TV, owned by Alphabet, indicated that FOX sought “payments that are far higher than what partners with comparable content offerings receive,” while FOX accused Google of proposing terms “out of step with the marketplace.” Prior to the final agreement, the two companies implemented a short-term extension on Wednesday, August 27, to prevent an immediate blackout.
The situation attracted attention from the Federal Communications Commission. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr publicly urged Google to finalize a deal, pointing out that the blackout would have impacted millions of Americans relying on YouTube TV to watch major sporting events. After reaching the agreement, Carr praised the resolution and noted that it avoided disruptions for college football fans.
This carriage agreement covers the full FOX portfolio, including FOX Nation as an optional add-on for $7.99 per month, and channels such as Fox Business, Fox Weather, Fox Deportes, Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Soul, KTVU Plus, and LiveNow from FOX.
FOX Television Stations operates 29 full-power stations, with 18 affiliated with the FOX network, and maintains affiliation agreements with 227 other local stations, all of which are included under the new YouTube TV agreement.
YouTube TV has faced similar disputes in recent years. In February 2025, it reached a contentious deal with Paramount Global (now Paramount Skydance) to carry CBS, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon channels after negotiations briefly threatened the service’s lineup.
Previously, in 2021, subscribers experienced temporary blackouts of Disney and NBCUniversal channels during negotiations. YouTube TV currently offers more than 100 channels, and a base subscription hike in December 2024 increased monthly costs from $72.99 to $82.99, attributed to rising content costs.
