With their distribution agreement set to expire tomorrow, Roku and Google announced today that they have agreed to a multi-year extension to keep both YouTube and YouTube TV on Roku.
A Roku spokesperson told Cord Cutters News: “Roku and Google have agreed to a multi-year extension for both YouTube and YouTube TV. This agreement represents a positive development for our shared customers, making both YouTube and YouTube TV available for all streamers on the Roku platform.”
The agreement follows failed negotiations to keep YouTube TV on Roku, resulting in the live TV streaming service being dropped from the Roku Store in April. That decision came after statements from both Roku and Google, in which Roku claimed Google wanted to skew search results in its favor and change the Roku user experience. Google responded, saying Roku was making “baseless claims.”
While the app was removed from The Roku Store, those who already had the app downloaded on their device were able to continue using it as normal.
Roku then threatened to remove the regular YouTube app as well, noting their concerns in a blog post. Roku shared that the two sides weren’t any closer to coming to an agreement in October than they were when YouTube TV was removed in April.
Luckily for Roku users and YouTube TV subscribers, the two were able to find a solution that will keep both YouTube and YouTube TV on the Roku platform.
Details of the agreement were not shared at the time of posting, but we’ll be back with updates if we learn more throughout the day.