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Roku Users Caught Up in Dispute With Google

Roku community members blasted Roku Monday in its dispute with Google over what Roku called “unfair terms” for YouTube TV. Some users received an email from Roku warning of the possibility “that Google may take away your access to the…

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YouTube TV channel,” saying recent negotiations “have broken down because Roku cannot accept Google’s unfair terms as we believe they could harm our users.” Roku cited Google’s “unfair and anticompetitive requirements to manipulate your search results, impact the usage of your data and ultimately cost you more.” It urged customers to “contact Google and urge them to reach an agreement.” Roku employee Mary told the community the company isn't removing the YouTube TV channel “at this time," it's "just making customers like you aware of this possibility.” Google has been “working with Roku in good faith to reach an agreement that benefits our viewers and their customers," said a Google spokesperson. "Unfortunately, Roku often engages in these types of tactics in their negotiations.” Google is “disappointed that they chose to make baseless claims while we continue our ongoing negotiations.” Google has tried to ensure a “high quality and consistent experience for our viewers” and has made “no requests to access user data or interfere with search results.” It hopes the companies can resolve the issue “for the sake of our mutual users.”