Heads up YouTube TV subscribers: Due to a contract dispute between YouTube TV and Paramount Global, some of your favorite family channels could be suspended for a stretch of time.

Variety reported late Wednesday February 12 Paramount Global notified YouTube TV subscribers that more than 20 channels including CBS, Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central, and MTV could go dark on the service as soon as Thursday, February 13–due to a contract impasse between the two parties.

According to the report, the contract dispute began after YouTube TV hiked its baseline subscription price by $10 in January 2025.

"Paramount has been negotiating a renewal agreement with Google to provide YouTube TV subscribers with continued access to their favorite premium content from BET, CBS, CBS Sports Network, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network and more," Paramount Global stated via an internal memo. "Unfortunately, Google is unwilling to agree to reasonable terms consistent with the market, choosing to jeopardize the entertainment experience at the expense of consumers."

YouTube TV released their own statement, which reads in part, "We’ve been working hard to reach a fair agreement with Paramount that allows us to keep their channels, including CBS and CBS Sports, on YouTube TV without passing on additional costs to our subscribers. Unfortunately, despite our good faith negotiations, we haven’t been successful yet."

Both parties go on to express a desire to reach an agreement and say they are still actively negotiating to avoid a service blackout, but it doesn't appear that either one is willing to budge publicly.

YouTube TV (launched in February 2017) is currently the largest internet-delivered pay-TV service in the U.S., with more than 8 million subscribers, according to Google. Services like these have grown in popularity with families due to their combination of programming options, convenience, and price. But as per usual with service providers, contracts based on fair value agreements have to be in place in order to keep things flowing.

Variety reported a previous contract dispute between YouTube TV and Disney back in 2021, which led to a two-day blackout of Disney channels on the service. There was another distribution deal that expired between YouTube TV and NBCUniversal that same year, but they were able to agree on an extension to avoid a blackout.

If the current impasse holds, channels like CBS Sports Network, Paramount Network, Nick Jr., Smithsonian Channel, VH1 and others could be affected. And, according to Variety, 10 other local stations that are part of the CBS News and Stations division could go dark in the following cities:

Customers would also lose any DVR recordings of Paramount content.

In an email that went out to YouTube TV subscribers, the company said that if it can’t reach an agreement with Paramount “and their content is unavailable for an extended period of time,” they'll offer subscribers an $8 credit. The company also noted that users can still "watch Paramount shows and movies by signing up for Paramount+, which starts at $7.99/month."

We'll keep an eye out to see if a programming blackout does happen and for how long, or if both companies can reach an agreement before it does.