Roku/YouTube TV

[harllee]

I have Youtube TV streaming service and have Roku sticks on all my TVs. Today I received an email from Roku that says Youtube TV/ Google may remove access to their service through Roku. From what I read it is not about money. Anyone know anything about this?

 

[MissMolly]

Roku says Google is demanding that Roku grant the separate YouTube app special search privileges as a condition for carrying YouTube TV. "Google is attempting to use its YouTube monopoly position to force Roku into accepting predatory, anti-competitive and discriminatory terms that will directly harm Roku and our users," Roku said in a statement on Monday.

https://popculture.com/streaming/news/youtube-tv-may-get-dropped-from-roku-amid-roku-google-dispute/#:~:text=Recent%20negotiations%20with%20Google%20to,condition%20for%20carrying%20YouTube%20TV.

 

[JoeWras]

What was the motto? [-]Don't[/-] be evil?

 

[Katsmeow]

That's interesting. Wonder why I didn't get that. I have a Roku stick on one TV and a Roku TV also and I subscribe to YouTube TV and I haven't gotten anything. I did look it up online and it said subscribers had been sent an email but I haven't received one.

Typically these things do work out. I do have other TVs that us either Apple TV or Amazon firestick. The TV with the Roku is a smart TV and might have support directly for YouTube TV. So I could probably work around this if it happened. We'll see.

 

[karen1972]

I'm concerned just how many issues Roku seems to have with all these companies. I just got back on Spectrum and was told the app won't work on Roku unless I had previously had it loaded. I had another streaming service, that also didn't work on roku for like 4 months.

Roku may be right and it is an issue with the provider, but it seems to happen over and over and over again.

 

[cathy63]

I'm concerned just how many issues Roku seems to have with all these companies. I just got back on Spectrum and was told the app won't work on Roku unless I had previously had it loaded. I had another streaming service, that also didn't work on roku for like 4 months.

Roku may be right and it is an issue with the provider, but it seems to happen over and over and over again.

It's not just Roku though. Dish dropped all of the regional sports networks with no advance notice on the opening day of baseball season this year, which I know because some members of my family are mighty irritated at them.

Periodically I see notices on various TV channels that their feed will be dropped from Cox if you don't act now and contact someone-or-other to pressure them to make a deal. We have Spectrum (Cox serves the other half of the county), so these don't affect us. We do see the "don't delete me" notice on the Roku's Spectrum app every time it starts though.

 

[Midpack]

I’m not surprised, Google has only gotten more intrusive and demanding throughout their history. That’s how they drive growth now that there aren’t as many “new users” to mine data from. They want to point you to Google products and even override your preferences. Lots of articles explaining it, here’s an excerpt for another one.

Roku says Google continues to ask for special treatment on Roku's streaming media player platform, which today includes a dedicated search results row for YouTube that appear after a customer performs a universal voice search. Roku claims YouTube over a year ago threatened to remove the YouTube app if Roku didn't comply with this particular demand. It now wants to ask Google to not preference its own service in the search results, as it believes this row doesn't serve its customer base well. The row returns YouTube results at the top of the search results page, even when this isn't relevant to what the customer was searching for in the first place, Roku explains.

In addition, Google is adding on to its earlier demands with a new series of requests to only show YouTube or YouTube Music search results when the YouTube app is open -- even overriding Roku user preferences to do so. Today, Roku allows its customers to set their own preferred music service provider for their music requests. Google's ask is that if a user presses the Roku voice search button while YouTube is open, that query returns only YouTube results. That means YouTube Music would play any music request, and YouTube search results would appear for any other request.

https://news.yahoo.com/roku-alleges-google-using-monopoly-151612037.html

 

[GalaxyBoy]

What was the motto? [-]Don't[/-] be evil?

HAHA! I was having this same exact thought just a few days ago. Sad.

 

[JRon]

I like YouTube videos, but am not a big fan of Google. I’m afraid the day is coming when I be forced to be on Google’s platform or give up YouTube.

 

[donheff]

Sounds like these streaming services want to make things as good for us as cable, probably just as expensive soon. I was entertaining dropping FIOS and going with YouTube TV until I discovered there is no way to get MASN and DW has to have her Nats games. I found MASN on AT&T TV but they don't have DW's deal breaker PBS. So for now I got the damn FIOS boxes working again.

 

[JoeWras]

Sounds like these streaming services want to make things as good for us as cable, probably just as expensive soon. I was entertaining dropping FIOS and going with YouTube TV until I discovered there is no way to get MASN and DW has to have her Nats games. I found MASN on AT&T TV but they don't have DW's deal breaker PBS. So for now I got the damn FIOS boxes working again.

The don't "want to," they already have succeeded. Job well done.

 

[Splash]

I picked ROKU for our streaming player for all of our TVs in both our homes specifically because of ROKU's independence from the various streaming services. I hoped that would mean more choices and less drama. So much for that!!

I picked YouTubeTV because it's the only streaming service that allows us to have 1 subscription for both of our homes and the channel lineup meets our needs. If YouTubeTV removes access on ROKU, I will need to either invest in all new streaming players or switch from YouTubeTV. Not excited by either option.

 

[Splash]

Got this email from ROKU this morning:


Dear Roku Customer,

We are disappointed to share the news that Google has chosen to let the YouTube TV contract expire.

While this news is unfortunate, we wanted to let you know that we are taking an extra step to ensure existing Roku users like yourself retain access to YouTube TV while we work to reach an agreement.

We will always stand up for our users, which is why we cannot accept Google's unfair and anticompetitive requirements that would allow for the manipulation of your search results, impact the usage of your data and ultimately cost you more.

Our commitment is to always put your interests first and therefore we will continue to offer existing users access to YouTube TV unless Google takes actions that require the full removal of the channel. New subscribers will not be allowed at this time. It is also important that you do not delete the YouTube TV channel as it will not be available for download to Roku devices.

We remain committed to reaching a good-faith agreement with Google that preserves your access to YouTube TV, honors your desired search preferences and protects your data. We hope to update you soon.


Thank you,
Roku

 

[harllee]

I got the same email as Splash. As of a few minutes ago I am still getting Youtube TV through my Roku but I wonder how long that will last. I guess at some point I will either have to replace Youtube with another streaming service or replace the 3 Rokus I have. Not good. Very irritating.

 

[cathy63]

I got the same email as Splash. As of a few minutes ago I am still getting Youtube TV through my Roku but I wonder how long that will last. I guess at some point I will either have to replace Youtube with another streaming service or replace the 3 Rokus I have. Not good. Very irritating.

Are any of your TVs that are using your Rokus smart TVs that might have their own app? We just got a new Samsung TV yesterday and I noticed it has a Youtube TV app available. We don't have Youtube TV, so I didn't try it, but after installing the Samsung apps for our other streaming services, it seems like the only thing we need the Roku for now is MLB.TV.

 

[Midpack]

Are any of your TVs that are using your Rokus smart TVs that might have their own app? We just got a new Samsung TV yesterday and I noticed it has a Youtube TV app available. We don't have Youtube TV, so I didn't try it, but after installing the Samsung apps for our other streaming services, it seems like the only thing we need the Roku for now is MLB.TV.

^^ Might be a great interim or final solution (when/if YTTV is pulled from Roku) for the OP!

 

[harllee]

Unfortunately all of my TVs are old (but still work great) so none of my TVs are smart TVs. One work around I have if Youtube gets cut off from my Rokus before I figure out something else is that I can attach my laptop to my TVs through a cord and play my shows that way. To be honest I only watch TV an hour or two a day, maybe I should just ditch the whole streaming thing. I mainly watch PBS and I get that through PBS passport. I could get an antenna for local news. My only problem will be when college sports start back up and I need ACC network.

 

[MichaelB]

Strange the presumption of wrongdoing is with Google and not Roku. HBO Max had a hard time getting on the Roku as well. The folks at Roku want a % of the ongoing streaming fee, and who knows the details of the negotiations.

I suspect this will happen again. Increased competition among streaming options probably means margins are thin, and content providers won’t have much room for higher platform fees.

 

[KM]

Meanwhile, YouTube TV has sent this out. I feel like a child watching their parents fight [emoji849]


“Hi,
Our goal with YouTube TV is to offer you the content you love, delivered in the way you want — including on all of your favorite devices. To make this happen, we enter into agreements with partners in order to enable access to YouTube TV via different devices.
Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we have been unable to reach an agreement with Roku. We continue to offer Roku the opportunity to renew the YouTube TV deal under the existing, reasonable terms.
If you are not currently using Roku, you should not have any issues. For our Roku users, as we send this, you still have access to YouTube TV on Roku devices; however, Roku may choose to remove the YouTube TV app from their devices. We encourage Roku to continue providing the YouTube TV app for our mutual users.
Should Roku decide to remove the YouTube TV app from their platform, you can still cast to your Roku device from your mobile device, tablet, or computer by following these simple steps. You can also continue to access the app using all of the devices listed here.
In light of Roku’s current stance, we encourage you to reach out to their customer support team to request they keep YouTube TV on Roku devices here or tweet @roku.
We are committed to ensuring our members continue to have access to YouTube TV and will continue advocating on behalf of our members. For further updates on this issue and our efforts to resolve it, please visit this website.”

 

[harllee]

The "casting" thing that Youtube is talking about appears to only work with certain TVs or if you have Cromecast.

it would serve them both right if a lot of us would just drop both Youtube TV and Roku

 

[Midpack]

Strange the presumption of wrongdoing is with Google and not Roku. HBO Max had a hard time getting on the Roku as well. The folks at Roku want a % of the ongoing streaming fee, and who knows the details of the negotiations.

I suspect this will happen again. Increased competition among streaming options probably means margins are thin, and content providers won’t have much room for higher platform fees.

They are telling completely different stories so it’s hard to tell - seems like it’s hard to find simple facts “truth” with everything these days.

I’d say Roku has a better track record than Google, but I admit I’m biased based on my past experiences with both.

 

[rpguy4]

We are in the same boat. I responded with feedback to YouTubeTV, not that it will mean anything. If Roku drops YouTubeTV, will probably switch over to Hulu. Shoot we are paying 69.70 a month for YouTubeTV, and if enough people have the same setup, you would think it would force YouTubeTV to reach an agreement with ROKU. Why would they want to lose an existing customer base to a competitor?

 

[Qs Laptop]

The sticking point with the hardware and new chip technology that Roku claims YouTube (Google) is pushing is there is a new video codec standard called AV1. AV1 allows for higher resolution content like 4K or 8K video that uses less bandwidth.

It's already on Android 10 and YouTube is starting to use it, as is Vimeo. Facebook will be on board as well. AV1 is a standard that Google is heavily pushing. The standard is also backed by Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Microsoft, and other major players, although Roku hasn't said anything about it. So, it appears it's coming.

 

[GTFan]

I highly doubt that the choice of video codec is driving this current dispute.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I highly doubt that the choice of video codec is driving this current dispute.

The AV1 hardware and codec is not the main driver of the dispute but it is a factor. That's why I said, "the sticking point with the hardware and new chip technology is ..."