Disney & YouTube resolve dispute
Google’s YouTube TV and Disney were at odds over carriage fees for ESPN and other company owned networks. When the two companies were unable to reach a deal by December 17, the channels were (briefly) removed from the line-up. YouTube TV made good on providing customers a $15 credit but within a couple of days a deal was reached the stations returned to viewers. Earlier this year, YouTube TV had similar negotiation disputes with NBCUniversal and most recently had a carriage dispute with device partner Roku.
The NPD Take:
- Carriage deals like this continue to be pervasive and reach the point where they impact the end customer. As direct-to-consumer streaming services grow in popularity, these disputes could lead to more viewers cutting the cord and not returning.
Discovery+ expands distribution & promotions
Discovery+ streaming service is now available on Vizio SmartCast TVs. The new distribution partner adds to the existing device portfolio including Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox, Samsung and LG Smart TVs and other Android and iOS devices. Additionally, Discovery+ has entered into a promotional agreement with SiriusXM offering the streaming service for free to top tier SiriusXM subscribers for one year.
The NPD Take:
- Discovery+ is now available across most major smart and streaming devices helping the platform rank among the Top 10 SVOD services.
- Look for more partnerships such as this as streaming services need to find creative ways to increase subscriptions following the gold rush fueled by the lack for experiential activities during the core of the pandemic.
T-Mobile releases new TVision Hub
After quickly sunsetting the TVision live streaming TV service, T-Mobile is getting back into the connected TV space with a new streaming device called TVision Hub powered by Google TV. The new device looks similar to a Google Chromecast but has T-Mobile’s TVision branding and will be priced at $50 or free with T-Mobile Home Internet.
The NPD Take:
- T-Mobile is furthering its strategy to bridge TV services to its home internet business, increase value to the customer and ARPU for the company.