YouTube TV Drops FOX Sports Southwest; Texas Rangers Games No Longer Available to Subscribers

If you are a Texas Rangers fan and a YouTube TV subscriber, you will no longer have access to your favorite baseball team.

On Thursday, the popular "cord-cutting" television streaming service announced to their subscribers that starting on Saturday, February 29th, they will no longer be able to watch live, on demand, or recorded content from local FOX Regional Sports Networks or YES Network.

Yes, that includes FOX Sports Southwest, who carries Texas Rangers games, as well as Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars games.

YouTube TV announced via social media and email that they had not come to a deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group, who owns the FOX Regional Sports Networks and YES Network.

To bring you 70+ channels, we have contracts with content owners that are periodically renegotiated. Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of FOX Regional Sports Networks and YES Network, is one of the largest owners of local TV stations in the US.
— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) February 27, 2020

We purchase rights from Sinclair to distribute content to you. Despite our best efforts, we’ve been unable to reach an agreement with Sinclair. As a result, we will no longer offer FOX Regional Sports Networks, including YES Network, beginning February 29th.
— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) February 27, 2020

We do not take this decision lightly. This is a reflection of the rising cost of sports content. You may have noticed several other TV services have also decided to remove FOX Regional Sports Networks from their lineups.
— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) February 27, 2020

Thank you for your membership as we strive to build the best possible streaming experience for you. You will receive an email today if you’re impacted by this change.
— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) February 27, 2020

Sinclair Broadcast Group purchased the networks from Disney last August for $10.6 billion.

Sinclair released a statement of their own, combatting YouTube TV's announcement.

"We offered YouTube TV the best terms under which their competitors carry our Regional Sports Networks. Unfortunately, they alone decided to drop these channels citing 'rising costs' despite our offer to actually lower the fees they pay us," a Sinclair spokesman said in a statement.

"We also offered to continue negotiating under a short-term extension so that their subscribers could continue to watch their favorite hometown teams. They've not yet responded to this offer. Given the ease with which YouTube TV subscribers can drop the service and switch providers, we are surprised that they've chosen this course."

YouTube TV isn't the first television provider to cut ties with Sinclair. Dish Network dropped Sinclair networks from its satellite television service and Sling TV, its TV streaming service back in July of last year. FuboTV hasn't had Sinclair networks since the beginning of 2019.

This is obviously terrible timing for baseball fans. The FOX Regional Sports Networks broadcast games for many local markets in Major League Baseball. The YES Network is owned by the New York Yankees.

For cord-cutters who live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Hulu with Live TV and AT&T TV Now are options for those wanting access to Texas Rangers games. Hulu with Live TV starts at $54.99/month and AT&T TV Now starts at $65/month. There is also the option of plugging the cord back in and signing up with your local cable or satellite television provider.

Out-of-market fans still have the option of MLB.TV, whose full-year plan is $121.99 for the year or $24.99/month. There is also a single-team option for a discounted rate of $93.99 for the year.

***UPDATE***

Team YouTube's official Twitter account has been replying to a number of customers announcing they've agreed to a temporary extension for the FOX Regional Sports Networks and YES Network.

Thanks for reaching out – negotiations are currently underway! In the meantime, we've agreed on a temporary extension for the YES Network and Fox RSNs. We’ll be sure to share an update as soon as we have more info on a potential resolution. More to come!
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) February 29, 2020

While the terms or length of the extension are not known, YouTube TV subscribers can hold off on switching to another provider, at least for the time being.

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