FCC grills Google about alleged trust discrimination in YouTube TV programs

Washington, DC Newsroom, March 13, 2025 / 2:50 p.m.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) calls for Google answers to the concerns that the YouTube TV streaming service may discriminate against faith base in its programming decisions.

The allegations come from the refusal of YouTube TV, the faith television network Great American Family, which is owned by Great American Media, on its platform. The channel, which wants to promote family-friendly Christian values ​​in its shows, is available for cable and satellite television providers and many other streaming services.

“These allegations come at a time when the American public discourse has experienced an unprecedented and unacceptable censorship in censorship,” said FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, who headed the agency in one position to X.

“I ask Google for answers,” he added.

Carr’s letter to Google to Google and his parent company Alphabet says that YouTube TV “apparently has no public directive against such programs”. However, he wrote: “I would like to determine whether your company deals in practice in this form of discrimination.”

“Consideration has been expressed that your company has a guideline (secret or in other ways) that discriminates against programming of the basis of faith,” added the letter. “As an example, Great American Media wrote me a letter in which you say that YouTube TV deliberately marginalizes from the basis of faith and family-friendly content.”

Carr wrote that the Great American Family Network “is the second fastest channel on cable television”, but “YouTube TV refuses to wear it”. He pressed concerns about technology companies “Sug (Ing) individuals that they did nothing other than express themselves online and on the Digital Town Square.”

“Understanding the type of transport policy can help inform the FCC’s approach for the broader series of regulatory questions that appeal to the FCC,” says Carrs letter.

Carr Bat Google to inform the FCC about the role of multi-channel video programming distribution on the media market and to inform the agency about the YouTube TV car negotiation process and the potential role of the discriminated points of view.

Great American Media has tried to make his great American Family Network available on YouTube TV for at least several months. In November 2024, Bill Abbott, President and CEO of the American family president and CEO, the Washington Examiner told that he had tried “all conceivable way” to make a deal with YouTube TV.

“Well, we offered YouTube TVs in every conceivable way to get the carriage on the platform, including free, and that was not accepted by this point, and we will see,” said Abbott at the time.

“We are confident that they recognize the value of the audience and the strength and quality of the content and the premise of standing on the pillars of family, faith and country, but we don’t know where it will go.”

Google did not answer a request for a comment from CNA.