A contractual dispute between Roku and Google is getting uglier and uglier as the two companies trade barbs and use their respective platforms as weapons.
In late April, Roku made the decision to pull the YouTube TV app from its channel store, effectively denying it to any Roku user who wants to add it to their streaming device. It also prevented any Roku users from creating a new subscription to the Google-owned live TV streaming service. It was the opening salvo in a very public contractual dispute between Roku and Google. On May 7, in an apparent attempt to limit further damage that might be caused if Roku elects to remove the YouTube TV app entirely, Google began updating its regular YouTube app on Roku with the ability to access YouTube TV content if you’re a YouTube TV subscriber. “Today, we’re introducing a new feature that gives you access to YouTube TV from within the YouTube app, making it easier to enjoy all the content you love,” the YouTube team wrote in a blog post. “Existing members can easily access YouTube TV by clicking on ‘Go to YouTube TV’ in the main YouTube app.” Digital Trends reached out to Roku for a statement, but we did not receive a response. However, a Roku rep did provide the following statement to Variety: Google’s latest move won’t necessarily be Roku-only. Perhaps out of an abundance of caution, Google says it will expand the update “to as many devices as we can over time.” This could be a sign that Google foresees similar contractual disputes occurring with other platforms, or it may be Google’s way of indicating that it isn’t using this strategy as a way to hammer Roku in particular. Should Roku decide to escalate the fight even further following this development, perhaps by yanking all of YouTube’s apps or somehow preventing YouTube TV access from within the YouTube app, Google is working on a contingency plan: “We’re also in discussions with other partners to secure free streaming devices in case YouTube TV members face any access issues on Roku.
