The rivalry between Roku and Google has become even more acrimonious.
Roku — which earlier this week accused Google of making “anti-competitive” requests and imposing “unfair” conditions on its YouTube TV and YouTube apps — announced Friday that it has withdrawn Google-owned YouTube TV from its video-streaming platform following the expiration of its contract to carry it.
Current Roku users will retain access to YouTube TV, but new customers will be unable to download the app from the company’s channel store. Google’s primary YouTube app is distributed separately and is unaffected by the YouTube TV blackout.
“We are disappointed that Google allowed our distribution agreement for YouTube TV to lapse,” a Roku spokesperson said. “Roku has made no request to Google for additional financial consideration in order to renew YouTube TV.”
YouTube TV replied Friday on its blog that it is “working with Roku to renew” the contract.
“Despite our best efforts to reach an arrangement that is in the mutual users’ best interests, Roku terminated our deal in bad faith during our negotiation,” YouTube TV said. “Unfortunately, Roku has always used this technique in its dealings with other streaming services.”
The company pleaded with Roku “not to uninstall the YouTube TV app so that current customers can continue to enjoy the service,” adding that during initial discussions, it “simply” requested to extend its contract with the streaming service, which “has been in place for many years.”
Roku sent an email to users Monday outlining the problems it was having with YouTube TV contract negotiations, implying that the app could be excluded from the service if the conflict is not resolved.
According to Roku, Google’s demands included preferential treatment for YouTube TV and the YouTube app in Roku user searches. For instance, Roku stated that as a condition of carrying YouTube TV, Google requested that Roku build a dedicated search results row for YouTube within the Roku smart TV interface and prioritize YouTube search results over competitors such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.
Roku, which has 51 million users, claimed that a more pressing problem in its conflict with Google is the company’s upcoming contract extension with YouTube. Google could use the video app, which has over 2 billion users worldwide, as a trump card to convince Roku to comply with its demands for its pay TV service.
Earlier this week, a YouTube TV representative replied to Roku’s charges, calling them “baseless.”
“We have been negotiating in good faith with Roku in order to reach an arrangement that helps both our viewers and their customers. Regrettably, Roku often uses these strategies in their negotiations,” the rep said.
