NBCUniversal, YouTube TV ink short-term deal to avert programming blackout

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(Reuters) -Alphabet’s YouTube TV and Comcast-owned NBCUniversal on Wednesday agreed to a short-term contract extension, averting a blackout and ensuring YouTube TV subscribers retain access to NBCUniversal programming while negotiations continue.

Popular NBC shows including “Sunday Night Football” and “America’s Got Talent” were at risk of being unavailable on YouTube TV after midnight on Tuesday if the two sides failed to reach an agreement, a standoff that could influence the future of television.

“We’ve reached a short-term extension with Google to avoid YouTube TV customers losing access to NBCUniversal programming as we continue negotiations,” a NBCU spokesperson said. A YouTube spokesperson confirmed the statement.

Carriage talks had stalled over the rates that YouTube TV, which ranks among the four largest U.S. pay-TV distributors, will pay to carry the shows of NBCUniversal to its 10 million subscribers.

NBCUniversal offered YouTube the same terms it extended to other large TV distributors – including Amazon’s Prime Video Channels – and is looking to include its streaming service as part of the bundle of programming that YouTube TV distributes, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

YouTube now accounts for the largest share of TV viewing in the U.S., ahead of streaming rival Netflix and traditional media companies such as Disney , according to analytics firm Nielsen.

(Reporting by Aditya Soni and Preetika Parashuraman; Editing by Sonia Cheema)