YouTube TV to add Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, among other Viacom channels

The company announced that it entered into an expanded distribution agreement with Alphabet Inc's Google for YouTube TV subscribers, adding the 14 new ViacomCBS channels to the service.

By ZACHARY KEYSER
A picture illustration shows a YouTube logo reflected in a person's eye, in central Bosnian town of Zenica (photo credit: REUTERS)
A picture illustration shows a YouTube logo reflected in a person's eye, in central Bosnian town of Zenica
(photo credit: REUTERS)
ViacomCBS will be moving many of their popular channels to YouTube this summer, according to a company statement.
Viacom channels like Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, CMT, BET, Paramount Network and TV Land will all be available on YouTube's online video-sharing platform, as part of a multi-year broadcast contract. Additionally, CBS stations such as CBS Sports Network, Smithsonian Channel, and The CW will be broadcast via the platform.
The company announced that it entered into an expanded distribution agreement with Alphabet Inc's Google for YouTube TV subscribers, adding the 14 new ViacomCBS channels to the service.
YouTube TV already broadcasts Viacom's premium cable channel Showtime, and will continue to do so as per the agreement. In February, Google expanded its partnership with AT&T Inc's WarnerMedia to feature its upcoming streaming service HBO Max, as well as content from HBO and Cinemax - HBO Max is due to launch at the end of May.
“We are thrilled to have reached an expanded agreement with YouTube TV that recognizes the full power of our newly combined portfolio as ViacomCBS,” Ray Hopkins, president of US networks distribution at ViacomCBS said, according to the Verge. “Google has been an excellent partner, and we look forward to bringing even more of our entertainment networks to YouTube TV subscribers for the first time.”
The price for the YouTube TV streaming service currently sits a $50 a month. However, according to The Verge, as YouTube TV adds more networks the price tends to increase for its subscribers. In 2018, Google added Turner network channels like TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, CNN and truTV to their lineup, resulting in a $5 monthly increase for the service. In 2019, the price jumped $10 to $50 a month total when it added Discovery channels such as HGTV, TLC, Food Network in addition to their main self-titled channel.
"We are clearly investing in areas where we see opportunity,” Pichai said. “We are pretty thorough about making sure our investments deliver growth on the other side. And so we monitored with metrics and beat engagement and revenue growth and we see a lot of opportunity here.”
Viacom and CBS — controlled by Sumner and Shari Redstone’s National Amusements Inc, — completed their merger in December to better compete against Netflix, Walt Disney Co, Apple Inc and other media and technology giants. The company has said the deal would result in $750 million in cost savings, up from the previous target of $500 million.
The merged company, which currently produces content for other streaming services in addition to distributing its own films and TV shows, has been preparing to launch a new streaming service that will build on CBS All Access. Chief Executive Officer Robert Bakish said the company is accelerating its plans for that service, with major changes coming this summer.
Reuters contributed to this report.


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