YouTube TV drops Univision, inks stop-gap deal with NBCU

YouTube TV has dropped several Univision-owned networks from its lineups after it was unable to come to a retransmission agreement with its owner, TelevisaUnivision, and the country’s other major Spanish-language broadcaster, Telemundo, could be next.

The move, which had been previously announced as a possibility, kicked in Sept. 30, 2025, when the current agreement expired.

The change means that Univision, Galavision and TUDN were dropped from both the basic lineup and Spanish-language upgrade package the Google-owned vMVPD offers. Univision-owned local stations were also blacked out.

Meanwhile, YouTube and Comcast also signed an extension for their distribution deal, which expired Sept. 30, 2025, as the two sides continue to hash things out. It was not clear how long the extension might keep key NBCUniversal networks available.

Comcast, which owns NBCU, is preparing to spin off most of its cable networks — the notable exception being Bravo — into Versant. Comcast will still own the spun-off company so it’s likely that any carriage agreements reached in the near term would carry over to the new corporate structure.

If the two sides can’t come to agreement, YouTube TV subscribers could lose access to networks including CNBC, MSNBC, SyFy and USA Network.

Subscribers could also lose access to Telemundo, the other major Spanish-language broadcaster in the U.S., striking a blow to Hispanic viewers.

Telemundo-owned local stations could also be affected.

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Comcast has been criticized for what some advocacy groups and lawmakers say is a lack of positive negotiations with Spanish-language media. 

One key sticking point between Univision and YouTube TV is reportedly YouTube’s desire to place the networks in its add-on Spanish-language package rather than its base tier, which could cut off a significant chunk of viewers who can’t or won’t pay more on top of YouTube TV’s already fairly high monthly cost.

It’s not clear if YouTube TV is pushing for a similar arrangement with NBCU and Telemundo.