YouTube TV and Paramount reached a carriage agreement on February 15, 2025, preventing a blackout of CBS, CBS Sports, Nickelodeon and other Paramount channels. A short-term extension had kept the programming available after the February 13 deadline while negotiations continued.
What the YouTube TV–Paramount deal means
YouTube TV will continue carrying Paramount programming rather than removing it from subscribers’ channel lineups. YouTube’s February 15, 2025 update said the agreement covered Paramount channels “including CBS, CBS Sports, Nickelodeon and more.” The company also said YouTube TV would continue offering more than 100 channels and add-ons including Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.
The agreement also included an expanded streaming relationship. TechCrunch reported that Paramount described the arrangement as giving Google the right to make Paramount+ available to qualifying YouTube TV customers. The announcement did not specify which customers qualify or provide a public launch timetable for that access.
Timeline: from blackout warning to renewal
- Before February 13, 2025: YouTube TV and Paramount were negotiating a new carriage agreement.
- February 13 deadline: YouTube warned that Paramount programming could become unavailable, including CBS and CBS Sports. It also warned that Library recordings and add-ons such as Paramount+ with SHOWTIME and BET+ could be affected.
- Short-term extension: YouTube TV and Paramount extended their existing arrangement, keeping the channels available while talks continued.
- February 15, 2025: YouTube announced that the parties had reached a deal to continue carrying Paramount channels.
Which Paramount channels stayed on YouTube TV?
The retained lineup included the following channels, according to CBS News’ report on the agreement:
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| Channel or group | Status after the February 15, 2025 agreement |
|---|---|
| CBS | Continued on YouTube TV, subject to local-market availability |
| CBS Sports | Continued on YouTube TV |
| Nickelodeon | Continued on YouTube TV |
| Comedy Central | Continued on YouTube TV |
| MTV | Continued on YouTube TV |
| Other Paramount channels | Continued under the renewed agreement |
CBS availability still depends on YouTube TV’s local-market coverage. The deal preserved the national relationship with Paramount; it did not eliminate the normal geographic rules that determine which local CBS station a subscriber receives.
What happened to recordings and add-ons?
The pre-deal warning mattered because carriage disputes can affect more than live channels. YouTube said that if Paramount programming became unavailable, existing Library recordings could be affected, along with add-ons including Paramount+ with SHOWTIME and BET+.
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Because the extension and final agreement avoided the blackout, subscribers did not face the threatened removal at that time. Paramount+ with SHOWTIME remained an available YouTube TV add-on. The final announcement did not publish separate terms for BET+.
Why the companies nearly blacked out the channels
The dispute centered on carriage fees and contract terms. Paramount accused YouTube TV of seeking “one-sided terms,” while YouTube said it was pursuing a fair agreement without passing additional costs to subscribers. The disagreement occurred shortly after YouTube TV’s basic package rose by $10 per month in January 2025, according to CBS News.
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The scale of the negotiation was significant: YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said YouTube TV had more than 8 million subscribers, as reported by CBS News in 2025. Paramount’s co-CEOs wrote in an employee memo quoted by TechCrunch that a successful video product could not operate without Paramount, which they described as one of the leading media families in television viewing.
What was not disclosed
- The exact carriage fee paid by YouTube TV was not announced.
- The contract’s length and renewal dates were not made public.
- The companies did not disclose detailed pricing mechanics for the expanded Paramount+ relationship.
- There was no announced subscriber price increase tied specifically to this agreement.
Those omissions mean the deal should not be treated as evidence of a particular future YouTube TV price or contract term.
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Could subscribers have received a credit?
YouTube said subscribers might have been eligible for an $8 credit if Paramount content became unavailable for an extended period. Because the short-term extension and subsequent agreement kept the channels available, the announced deal avoided the prolonged outage that would have triggered that policy.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What to watch if Paramount channels are ever removed
A future carriage dispute could again affect CBS, sports coverage, children’s programming, recordings or premium add-ons. Before switching services, check these points:
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- Local CBS access: Confirm that the alternative carries your market’s CBS station, not merely a national CBS feed.
- Sports rights: Compare the specific CBS Sports networks and events you watch.
- Paramount+ access: Determine whether Paramount+ is included, offered as an add-on, or requires a separate subscription.
- DVR and streams: Check recording retention, storage and simultaneous-stream limits.
- Total monthly cost: Include regional sports fees, premium add-ons, taxes and any introductory pricing.
Paramount+ is the most direct fallback for on-demand Paramount programming, but its current price, plan features and eligibility should be checked at the time of signup. A live-TV replacement must also be evaluated for local channels and sports rather than Paramount content alone.
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