Roku and Google reach deal for further distribution of YouTube and YouTube TV on Roku devices – TechCrunch

After months of nasty contract disputes, Roku announced this morning that it has reached an agreement with Google allowing it to continue running both YouTube and YouTube TV on its platform. Roku declined to share details of the deal terms, except that it is a multi-year extension that includes both services.

However, for Roku and Google customers, this means they don’t know which side won the battle or what that means for Google’s access to Roku’s user data. During the altercation, Roku brought to public attention that Google reportedly demanded increased access to customer data that Roku had then described as “outside the realm” of industry standard practices. It said Google wanted more user data than Roku was offering its other customers.

Roku also said Google had threatened retaliation by raising hardware specification requirements for YouTube TV if it didn’t get its way. That would have meant that Roku’s low-end players would no longer be able to access the service.

These are serious complaints. And in the case of user data sharing agreements, it seems that customers should have a right to know where the decision ended.

However, it may be easier to see which side has won when it comes to Roku’s other allegations. Roku had said that Google wanted preferential treatment of YouTube content in Roku search results and override Roku customers’ default settings when the YouTube app was open. For example, if a Roku customer opened YouTube and used voice search to request music, Google wanted YouTube Music to play the request, even if the customer set Pandora as their favorite music app. This should be easy enough to test out when the new agreements come into effect.

Roku had released details of the backroom negotiations to the public in an attempt to gain the upper hand in the disputes, eventually warning customers in October that the negotiations had failed — and that customers could lose access to YouTube TV as a result.

Google, meanwhile, had dismissed Roku’s claims as “baseless” and denied that it had asked for increased access to user data or to interfere with Roku’s search results. The company also suggested that Roku was trying to use these allegations (which had a hint of antitrust nature) as a means of renegotiating a separate deal for the main YouTube app. Since the new agreement now includes both services, one has to wonder if Roku was successful in that area.

A Roku spokesperson shared the following statement regarding the new deal:

Roku and Google have agreed on a multi-year extension for both YouTube and YouTube TV. This agreement represents a positive development for our shared customers, making both YouTube and YouTube TV available to all streamers on the Roku platform.

Meanwhile, a Google spokesperson said:

We were excited to share that we’ve signed a deal with Roku to continue distributing the YouTube and YouTube TV apps on Roku devices. This means that Roku customers will continue to have access to YouTube and the YouTube TV app will be available again in the Roku store for both new and existing members. We are excited about a partnership that benefits our mutual users.

Google also declined to comment on the nature of the data-sharing agreements under the new contract, citing only previous statements it made denying Roku’s allegations.