Google Inserts YouTube TV Into Main YouTube App

Google Inserts YouTube TV Into Main YouTube App

Google escalated its fight with Roku today, inserting the

YouTube TV app into its main YouTube app. The YouTube TV app

was removed from Roku devices recently after the two companies

failed to agree on terms to renew its distribution agreement.

According to Roku, Google was making numerous ‘anti-competitive

demands’ including preferential treatment of YouTube TV

and YouTube on the Roku platform.

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Google is now informing customers of a new way to access its

streaming TV service on Roku devices.

Existing members can easily access YouTube TV by clicking on

“Go to YouTube TV” in the main YouTube app. This update will

be available to all YouTube TV members on Roku over the next

few days, and we will expand to as many devices as we can over time.

Additionally, the company says it is “in discussions with other partners

to secure free streaming devices in case YouTube TV

members face any access issues on Roku.”

Roku has issued a statement on the move, accusing the

company of being an unchecked monopolist.

Google’s actions are the clear conduct of an unchecked monopolist

bent on crushing fair competition and harming consumer choice.

The bundling announcement by YouTube highlights the kind of predatory

business practices used by Google that Congress, Attorney Generals

and regulatory bodies around the world are investigating. Roku has not

asked for one additional dollar in financial value from YouTubeTV.

We have simply asked Google to stop their anticompetitive behavior

of manipulating user search results to their unique financial benefit and

to stop demanding access to sensitive data that no other partner on

our platform receives today. In response, Google has continued its

practice of blatantly leveraging its YouTube monopoly to force an

independent company into an agreement that is both bad

for consumers and bad for fair competition.

Despite Roku’s accusations, it does not appear that Google is backing

down from its demand that the company support AV1 decoding.

We are also in ongoing, long-term conversations with Roku to certify

that new devices meet our technical requirements.

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This certification process exists to ensure a consistent and high-quality

YouTube experience across different devices, including Google’s own

so you know how to navigate the app and what to expect.

Roku says the requirement is unreasonable and will lead to higher device costs.