The companies reached the agreement just days before their previous deal covering YouTube on Roku was set to expire on Dec. 9.
Roku has previously said it does not earn any kind of revenue from the YouTube app.
Roku and Google have sealed the deal, announcing a multiyear extension for both the YouTube and YouTube TV apps on the Roku streaming platform.
The agreement was reached just days before their previous deal covering YouTube on Roku was set to expire on December 9. Roku’s distribution agreement with YouTube TV expired in April 2021, and the app was removed from the channel store at the time (while the YouTube TV service remained accessible through the main YouTube).
“This agreement represents a positive development for our shared customers, making both YouTube and YouTube TV available for all streamers on the Roku platform,” a Roku rep said in a statement.
A YouTube spokesperson said, “We’re happy to share that we’ve reached 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 that the YouTube TV app will once again be available in the Roku store for both new and existing members. We are pleased to have a partnership that benefits our mutual users.”
The terms of the contract extension were not disclosed. Roku has previously stated that the YouTube app generates no revenue for the company.
Roku shares rose more than 10% in morning trading Wednesday on news of the agreement, reaching an intraday high of +20 percent before closing up 18.2 percent for the day. (Year to date, the stock is still down 19.5 percent.)
Roku had made its dispute with Google public, claiming that the internet giant’s YouTube distribution terms were anticompetitive. Roku’s complaints drew the attention of national lawmakers, who are already investigating how Google and other large tech companies abuse their market power.
Roku specifically complained that Google required Roku to implement YouTube search, voice, and data features that it did not require of other connected-TV partners. For example, Google mandated that YouTube have a dedicated search-results row in Roku’s general search results under their previous agreement, reached in 2019. It’s unclear whether the new Roku-Google agreement alters the way Roku’s platform is required to display YouTube search results.
Google called Roku’s claims “unproductive and baseless,” and stated that its goal was to “find a solution that benefits our mutual users
