What you need to know
- Roku says it has reached a multi-year agreement with Google for YouTube and YouTube TV.
- While YouTube will continue to be available to Roku customers, the YouTube TV is expected to soon return to the platform.
- YouTube TV was removed from Roku devices in April this year.
Streaming hardware maker Roku has announced that it has signed a multi-year deal with Google to keep YouTube and YouTube TV on its platform. The announcement comes just a day before YouTube was scheduled to be removed from the best Roku devices.
Effective today, we have agreed to a multi-year extension with Google for YouTube and YouTube TV. This agreement represents a positive development for our shared customers, making both YouTube and YouTube TV available for all streamers on the Roku platform.Effective today, we have agreed to a multi-year extension with Google for YouTube and YouTube TV. This agreement represents a positive development for our shared customers, making both YouTube and YouTube TV available for all streamers on the Roku platform.— Roku (@Roku) December 8, 2021December 8, 2021
The multi-year extension means that both new and existing Roku customers will continue to have access to YouTube. The YouTube TV app, on the other hand, will be making a return to the Roku channel store within the next few hours.
The YouTube TV app was removed from Roku's channel store after its agreement for the distribution of the app with Google had expired. Roku claimed that Google had asked for "preferential treatment" in search results on its devices to allow YouTube apps, along with access to user data.
Google, however, denied the accusations and said that Roku wasn't trying to "work constructively" with it to resolve the issues. The fight between Roku and Google had also drawn attention from a few important members of Congress trying to rein in Big Tech.
Had the two companies not reached an agreement, new Roku subscribers wouldn't have been able to install YouTube and YouTube TV apps on their devices from December 9. It would also have affected Roku as all its direct rivals — including Amazon's Fire TV and Apple TV, offer YouTube access to users.
Roku Ultra
Roku Ultra is a high-end set-top box that offers support for 4K UHD streaming, Dolby Vision, as well as Dolby Atmos. It also offers quite a few nifty features, such as a built-in headphone jack and a lost remote finder.
