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If Roku stopped Roku customers from using YouTube TV, it would force a lot of YouTube TV customers to either a) buy non-Roku devices; b) move to a different ser

by mdasen 5y ago

If Roku stopped Roku customers from using YouTube TV, it would force a lot of YouTube TV customers to either a) buy non-Roku devices; b) move to a different service like Hulu with Live TV, DirecTV Stream, Sling, FuboTV, etc. If Roku removed YouTube TV from their boxes, it would put a lot of pressure on YouTube TV to agree to Roku's terms since they would likely start losing customers fast. Before, if a cable company had a dispute with a network, customers had to wait it out. If Roku has a dispute with YouTube TV, the customers can just switch to one of multiple replacements. That gives the box-providers a lot of leverage. Roku could even work with one of the alternatives to offer a switching bonus. "We're sorry that YouTube TV is being evil. If you switch to Hulu with Live TV, here's $10/mo off for the first year!"

dleslie 5y ago
I think you're over estimating the willingness of customers to remain loyal to a device and not the content it serves.
- john-radio 5y ago
  I think that's true in some cases but YouTube on a settop box, in my mind, is really just a "nice to have".
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - dfinninger 5y ago
    The comment chain is about YouTube TV. That’s a $65/mo live TV service that includes DVR.
graton 5y ago
Edit: I thought the article was talking about "YouTube" and not "YouTube TV". I don't care at all about "YouTube TV" If YouTube disappeared from my Roku I would go buy a device that does support it. At the moment there isn't much competition in the YouTube space. If Netflix or Amazon Prime disappeared from my Roku, I wouldn't be as bothered as they are more fungible services.
enos_feedler 5y ago
I think you have this backwards. I am more likely to remain loyal to Sling or Youtube TV than I am to Roku or some other smart TV OS. Simple reason: content. Sling doesn’t have regional sports networks from NBC any more, but Youtube TV does. Switching over to Sling is a non-starter. Meanwhile, Roku’s operating system doesn’t really offer something I can’t get elsewhere.

by mdasen 5y ago

dleslie 5y ago

I think you're over estimating the willingness of customers to remain loyal to a device and not the content it serves.

john-radio 5y ago
I think that's true in some cases but YouTube on a settop box, in my mind, is really just a "nice to have".
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- dfinninger 5y ago
  The comment chain is about YouTube TV. That’s a $65/mo live TV service that includes DVR.

graton 5y ago

Edit: I thought the article was talking about "YouTube" and not "YouTube TV". I don't care at all about "YouTube TV" If YouTube disappeared from my Roku I would go buy a device that does support it. At the moment there isn't much competition in the YouTube space. If Netflix or Amazon Prime disappeared from my Roku, I wouldn't be as bothered as they are more fungible services.

enos_feedler 5y ago

I think you have this backwards. I am more likely to remain loyal to Sling or Youtube TV than I am to Roku or some other smart TV OS. Simple reason: content. Sling doesn’t have regional sports networks from NBC any more, but Youtube TV does. Switching over to Sling is a non-starter. Meanwhile, Roku’s operating system doesn’t really offer something I can’t get elsewhere.