WASHINGTON, D.C. — The voice of the nation’s broadcast media Inside the Beltway on Wednesday issued a statement that, while designed as a voice of support for TelevisaUnivision in its carriage fee dispute with YouTube TV, also served as an opportunity to blast a key member of the “GAFAN” group.
“The unchecked dominance of Big Tech companies like Google and its ability to dictate what millions of households can and cannot watch through its YouTube TV platform is a problem for competition and consumers,” said Alex Siciliano, SVP of Communications at the NAB, in response to the Google-operated vMVPD’s move to not bump Univision to a premium Latino tier but to drop every TelevisaUnivision network in the absence of a fresh carriage deal.
“These behemoths have the upper hand to not only lock out independent, news-leading local stations from their lineup, but also to push around companies like NBCUniversal and TelevisaUnivision,” Siciliano continued. Telemundo did not get removed from YouTube TV, as a temporary agreement is in place ahead of finalization of a fresh retransmission consent accord with NBCU. “In this case, Google’s actions will have the added impact of depriving millions of Spanish-speaking viewers access to the most trusted broadcast news, sports and entertainment.”
Siciliano lamented how such carriage fee fights, which can lead to a “blackout” such as this, leaves consumers with fewer choices, higher costs and leaves “millions of viewers caught in the middle. These impasses highlight the unchecked power of dominant tech companies to determine what households can and cannot watch.”
