For over a century, local television stations have invested in reporters, newsrooms and emergency warning systems to serve their communities. Yet, Google and other big tech companies have taken the work of local broadcasters and used it to build empires – displaying our local journalism on its platforms without fair compensation, and reaping the rewards — while the stations who actually gather the news are left footing the bill.
Now, Google is coming for your television.
Last week, Google’s YouTube TV — the streaming service with nearly 10 million subscribers — found itself in another standoff with major broadcast networks. TelevisaUnivision was dropped from its lineup, leaving millions of Spanish-speaking viewers suddenly shut out of the trusted news, sports and entertainment they count on. NBC’s channels were nearly next, but at the last moment Google struck a deal to keep them on the platform.
The last-minute deal may be good news, but it highlights the problem: Google alone decides who wins and who loses. A global tech giant dictated whether millions of households would wake up with their favorite programming — and in TelevisaUnivision’s case, it simply pulled the plug.
When Google drops TelevisaUnivision, it doesn’t just silence a network — it cuts off an essential lifeline for millions of Spanish-speaking families who depend on those broadcasts for local news, cultural connection and emergency information. These viewers deserve the same access to trusted, in-language content as everyone else, yet Google’s decisions leave them with fewer options and less representation on one of the nation’s largest TV platforms.
Independent, community-based broadcasters don’t even get to negotiate with YouTube TV, meaning local voices can be locked out altogether.
It’s the same playbook we’ve seen before: build scale, box out competitors then dictate terms. What’s next? If Google can profit from your local station’s reporting without paying for it, and now decide whether your trusted channels even appear on your TV, there’s no limit to how much power it can wield unchecked. Consumers lose. Communities lose. And democracy itself loses when trusted local journalism gets squeezed out.
It’s time to create a level playing field. Modernizing outdated broadcast rules at the FCC, ensuring fair compensation for local journalism and reining in Big Tech’s control over content distribution are essential to protecting consumers and preserving the trusted local news Americans depend on.
