Gophers opener at risk for YouTube TV subscribers amid Fox dispute
Minnesota Golden Gophers fans who are subscribers of YouTube TV could be out of luck when it comes to Thursday night’s season opener against Buffalo.
With just days until week one of the 2025 college football season gets underway, Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal has reported that Fox and Google, which owns YouTube TV, are at “an impasse” regarding renewal of their carriage agreement. The current deal expires on Wednesday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. ET.
YouTube on Monday released a statement regarding the deal.
“Our current agreement with Fox is approaching its renewal date, and we are in active and ongoing negotiations to continue carrying their content,” YouTube said in a press release. “We want to be transparent about these discussions: if we are unable to reach a new agreement by 5:00 PM ET on August 27, 2025, Fox channels including Fox Sports, Business, and News would become unavailable on YouTube TV.”
Among the channels at risk are FS1, which is set to air Thursday night’s season opener, and the Big Ten Network.
A deal could still be reached after the deadline, the Gophers’ opener could become collateral damage in the dispute. While the game will have quality regional value, both Fox and Google could be willing to lose Thursday night’s games while using Friday and Saturday’s matchups as leverage.
The two games that both sides will likely carry more weight in discussions include Friday night’s showdown between Baylor and Auburn from McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, as well as Saturday afternoon’s clash in Columbus, Ohio, between Ohio State and Texas.
Stay tuned for additional Minnesota-Buffalo coverage here at Gophers Nation.
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