Roku said negotiations with Google to carry YouTube TV on its platform have broken down as a result of what Roku called Google’s "unfair terms". If no deal is reached, YouTube TV may be forced off the platform.
Roku said the dispute is not centred around its desire for more money to carry the channel, but its request for Google not to "use its monopoly power to try and force terms that will directly harm streamers," Axios reported. The carriage agreement between the two companies is set to expire very soon.
Roku said Google is threatening the removal of YouTube TV in order to force the streaming company to grant preferential access to its consumer data going forward. For example, Google has asked Roku to create a dedicated search results row for YouTube within the Roku smart TV interface, and to give YouTube results a more prominent placement. Roku says Google also asked it to block search results from other streaming content providers while users are using the YouTube app on Roku's system. Roku also alleges Google asked it to favour YouTube music results from voice commands made on the Roku remote while the YouTube app is open, even if the user's music preference is set to default to another music app, like Pandora. Finally, Roku says Google threatened to make Roku use certain chip sets or memory cards that would force Roku to increase the price of its hardware product, which competes directly with Google's Chromecast.
The allegations come amid antitrust investigations into Google by the Justice Department, state attorneys generals and Congress over Google's dominance in search and advertising.
