Soap fans are in danger of losing access to “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “The Young and the Restless” and even the brand new soap opera “Beyond the Gates” due to a contract dispute between YouTube TV and Paramount, owner of CBS and Paramount+, among other media networks.
In a statement released on Wednesday, YouTube TV said on X (formerly Twitter), “For our members: We work hard to bring you the content you love, delivered the way you want. Despite our best efforts, we’ve been unable to reach a fair deal with Paramount to keep their channels on YouTube TV and their channels may be unavailable tomorrow.”
“We understand how frustrating and disruptive this is for our users,” the service added. “We’re committed to continuing conversations with Paramount to advocate for you and hope to keep their channels on YouTube TV. If no agreement is reached for an extended time, we’ll offer members an $8 credit. You can watch Paramount shows/movies on the Paramount+ streaming service, starting at $7.99/mo.”
The dispute would impact subscribers after February 13, should an agreement not be reached in time with Paramount, with networks/services like CBS and Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, no longer being available to subscribers of YouTube TV beginning Friday. It would also impact fans of March Madness should the matter reach that level.
Additionally, with YouTube TV recently raising its monthly subscription fee from $73 to $83, many current customers are sharing their frustration with the service, leading to many contemplating switching to other TV streaming services such as Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, Sling and DIRECTV STREAM, among others. Ultimately, the dispute is just another ongoing round where customers are directly impacted in contract discussions between service providers and media companies, with costs increasing as a result.
During the week of February 17-21, CBS in particular will be providing a sneak peek at its new daytime drama series, “Beyond the Gates,” with the daytime special “Beyond the Gates: Welcome to the Neighborhood.” A loss in coverage could see millions of potential viewers without a chance to preview what’s to come on the series.
All Paramount-owned or co-owned media networks that will go dark if an agreement isn’t made are listed below.
Affected channels
National
| BET BET Her CBS CBS Sports Network CMT Comedy Central Comet TV Dabl MTV MTV Classic MTV2 MyNetwork TV | NewsNation Nick Jr. Nick Toons Nickelodeon Paramount Pop Smithsonian Channel Start TV Teen Nick Tr3s: MTV, Musica y Mas TV Land VH1 |
Local stations
| Atlanta 69 (WUPA) Boston TV38 (WSBK) Dallas-Fort Worth KTXA New York (WLNYDT ) Philadelphia 57 (WPSG) | Pittsburgh KDKA+ (WPCW) Sacramento KMAX 31 (KMAX) San Francisco KPIX+ (KPYX) Seattle 11 (KSTW) Tampa Bay 44 (WTOG) |
Affected plans & add-ons
Plans
- Base plan
- Spanish plan
Add-ons
- BET+
- Entertainment plus
- Paramount+ with SHOWTIME
- Spanish plus
“Beyond the Gates” is the first brand new soap opera set to debut on a broadcast network in more than 25 years, since the launch of “Passions” in 1999, and the first-ever one-hour Black-centric daytime drama series. The series premieres Monday, February 24 at 2:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT on CBS, and will be available to stream Live and On Demand on Paramount+.
