A week after Roku removed the YouTube TV app from its store amid a dispute, viewers have another way to watch the live TV service. Google simply added YouTube TV to the main YouTube app with a button on the left menu bar.
The company plans to bring YouTube TV to the main app on “as many other devices as we can over time,” but it’s a Roku-only feature for now. It’ll be available to all YouTube TV users on Roku within the next few days. If you already had the YouTube TV app on a Roku device before it vanished from the store, you’ll still be able to access the service with it.
Roku accused Google of demanding special treatment for YouTube TV in search results and certain hardware specs that would make its devices more expensive, potentially giving Chromecast a boost as a more attractive option for consumers. Google said it wanted to renew the deal on the existing terms, and accused Roku of acting in bad faith. It claimed Roku has used similar tactics during talks with other streaming services.
Here’s Roku’s full statement:
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.
Google said on Friday that it’s “in ongoing, long-term conversations with Roku to certify that new devices meet our technical requirements,” yet more confirmation that the company is insisting hardware makers implement support for AV1 decoding:
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. We’ll continue our conversations with Roku on certification, in good faith, with the goal of advocating for our mutual customers.
Roku has argued that Google’s requirements are unreasonable and will lead to higher prices for its products.
