Recently YouTube TV has been leaning into some sports but walking away from others. Over the last few years, most RSNs have now been removed from YouTube TV along with MLB Network. This comes as YouTube TV just dropped one of the last RSNs it had the SNY channel. So why is YouTube TV doing this?
In short, YouTube TV is balancing the cost of the services vs what sports fans it can bring in. Clearly, football has become one of the main focus of the service, not just with the NFL Sunday Ticket but also with focusing on sports networks that offer both college and pro football. This includes college focused networks like the Big Ten Network, ACC Network, and SEC Network, to name a few.
This has resulted, though, in some networks being dropped, most noticeably the MLB Network and most RSNs. Clearly, YouTube TV has looked at its customer base and decided where it can focus its efforts.
The other real issue here is most regional sports networks (RSN) are starting to offer an option to stream their content as a standalone service. This leaves many companies like YouTube TV to wonder why they should include the cost of RSNs in their list price.
Not having the MLB Network and RSNs may push away some MLB fans, but the lower price could help attract fans of other sports.
This is a balancing act that all networks have been trying to figure out recently. Dish was one of the first to do this, as it dropped RSNs. According to Dish RSNs were some of the most expensive channels they offered and are also some of the least watched.
The question now is will YouTube TV and others find the right balance of channels to attract a large subscriber base. As always the more channels a service offers the higher the cost is.