Univision channels go dark on Fubo, the distribution contract is to blame

Dozens of Spanish-language broadcast channels and cable networks owned by Televisa-Univision disappeared from Fubo on Monday after a contract to carry those channels expired without a new one in place.

In a statement, a Fubo spokesperson exaggerated the situation by claiming that “thousands of Spanish-speaking consumers across the United States have lost access to local news and weather … as a result of Televisa-Univision pulling their programming from Fubo.”

Fubo has never released the number of customers paying for its Spanish-language programming package compared to its two English-language plans offered in North America, so it’s not clear how many Fubo subscribers don’t have access to Univision-owned channels through the service on due to the current situation. That said, most Fubo subscribers can still receive their local Univision broadcast station or affiliate free of charge using a conventional TV antenna, which will give them the same level of access to local news and weather that they had on Fubo before the dispute started.

As is the case in situations like this, the issue is the amount Fubo must pay Televisa-Univision in exchange for the right to distribute its broadcast and cable channels. While broadcast channels are free to receive with an antenna, Fubo also carried the national sports network TUDN (Tu Sports Network), which offers live global soccer matches and other sports programming.

Fubo accused Televisa-Univision of not only demanding more money for its channels — reportedly a 25 percent increase over the previous rate — but of cutting programming for its own streaming service, called Vix. Fubo argued that Televisa-Univision still requires its subscribers to pay for Vix separately — but Televisa-Univision has bundled the distribution with other pay-TV platforms that give subscribers free access to the ad-supported version of Vix as part of their pay TV service.

It was not clear from Fubo’s announcement whether the company was trying to make the same type of agreement for its service. Fubo recently launched a streaming subscription marketplace that offers third-party services like Paramount Plus to its streamers without a subscription to its basic TV package — but Fubo hasn’t offered free access to network-owned streaming services like Paramount Plus as part of a traditional pay solution . Subscription TV, as DirecTV and Charter’s Spectrum TV have done for the past two years.

Instead of trying to explain his situation, Fubo instead chose to paint Televisa-Univision as the bad guy in the ongoing dispute, writing that the broadcaster’s latest deal was unacceptable to its customers and investors.

“Fubo remains open to negotiating a new content agreement with Televisa-Univision, but it must be fair and equitable to our subscribers,” a Fubo spokesperson said. “It includes access to Spanish-language content in our Latino plan at a competitive price.”

A spokesman for Televisa-Univision said the company had “worked in good faith to reach an agreement with Fubo to avoid this outcome, but they refuse to pay the market value that other distributors have accepted.”

“Fortunately, our channels are widely distributed across many platforms, ensuring our audiences have plenty of opportunities to continue to enjoy our programming while we work towards a resolution,” the spokesperson said. (A source familiar with the matter said it was Fubo’s choice to pull Televisa-Univision’s channels from the platform while the broadcaster worked on a new deal.)

Fubo pointed out that its Spanish-language package still offers channels from BeIN Sports, Sony Television, Walt Disney Company and Paramount Global. But the loss of Televisa-Univision channels is particularly problematic for the company, as Univision’s flagship broadcast channel is the most viewed among Spanish-speaking households in the United States.

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Editor’s note: This story was updated late Monday night to include a comment from a spokesperson for Televisa-Univision and with additional information about negotiations between the two companies.