President Donald Trump on Saturday urged Google to restore Univision to its YouTube TV platform, invoking the network’s popularity among Hispanic audiences and framing the elimination as a political blow to Republicans during elections. Trump issued the appeal in a posting on his social media site Truth Social.
In the post, Trump called Univision “a great and very popular Hispanic Network” and asked Google to restore it “BACK onto the very amazing Google/YouTube.” He claimed that the network had given him a highly watched political special and argued that yanking the channel was “VERY BAD for Republicans.”.
YouTube TV dropped Univision’s local stations from its core package this week after negotiations collapsed, a move that drew immediate condemnation from some Republican members of Congress. The streaming service informed TheWrap that the programmer represents a very small percentage of overall viewing on its pay live TV platform and that the two sides couldn’t reach a new agreement. The company added that Univision programming remains on YouTube’s ad-supported service, Variety reported.
TelevisaUnivision, Univision’s parent network, condemned the action and said that the shift robs millions of Spanish-language viewers of daily news, sports, and entertainment. The firm also warned that the conflict denies listeners access to diverse voices amid political uncertainty. Univision previously argued that part of the tension may be caused by political pressures since it faced backlash after broadcasting a town hall meeting with Trump in 2024.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton encouraged YouTube TV to keep Univision in its core lineup and requested that the state decide whether to look into potential retaliation if there’s evidence to support such allegations. He praised Univision for hosting Trump and warned against exercising “market power to punish” a programmer for viewpoint diversity.
Future developments: Google carriage talks with TelevisaUnivision appear unsettled. Univision content remains on YouTube’s main platform and the live TV blackout continues. Any legal or regulatory action threatened by state authorities would depend on additional evidence and is not certain.
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