Fox and YouTube TV Reach Temporary Extension to Avert Blackout

NEW YORK, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Fox Corp. and Alphabet-owned YouTube TV announced a short-term extension of their carriage agreement early Thursday, narrowly avoiding a blackout of Fox channels on the streaming platform.

Under the expedited deal, subscribers will retain access to Fox broadcast, Fox News, Fox Sports and related networks- including FS1, Fox Business and the Big Ten Network-while both sides continue negotiations toward a long-term contract. The previous agreement expired Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET, when YouTube TV had warned that Fox content could go dark if no new terms were reached.

In a joint statement, YouTube TV reaffirmed its goal of securing a “fair deal” that balances Fox’s programming fees with subscriber costs, and pledged to issue a $10 credit to members should any interruption occur once the extension lapses. Fox expressed disappointment at what it described as Google’s “outsized influence” in the talks but welcomed the extension as a step toward resolving the dispute.

The timing of the standoff heightened tensions ahead of the college football season kickoff and the start of the NFL regular season, events that drive peak viewership and advertising revenue. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr publicly urged Google to finalize terms, warning that a blackout would deprive millions of Americans of live news and sports programming.

Carriage-fee negotiations typically intensify each late summer, and while temporary extensions are common, both networks and distributors have occasionally allowed disputes to drag into major sporting events. Subscribers can continue to watch Fox content on YouTube TV for now, but a new definitive agreement must be reached before the extension’s unspecified deadline to prevent any service disruptions.