The bumpy transition into a streaming-led media industry could leave many viewers without March Madness and the Masters this spring.

Paramount-owned channels, including CBS on broadcast and the CBS Sports Network, are set to go dark Thursday on YouTube TV, the fourth-largest U.S. pay-TV provider with more than eight million subscribers. The sides have been unable to reach a new carriage agreement, and the dispute is escalating just weeks before a key moment in the annual sports calendar for CBS with the two high-profile events upcoming.

“Paramount is an important partner for us and as you can imagine, this is not the outcome we want,” YouTube TV said in a blog post. “We’re still in active conversations with Paramount and are hopeful we can come to an agreement to keep their content available.”

The blackout is due to go into effect at 11 p.m. ET on Thursday.

The contract battle also arrived just weeks after YouTube TV raised its prices by $10 per month to $82.99. YouTube said it would give its customers an $8 credit if the Paramount content “is unavailable for an extended period of time,” though there were no immediate specifics on how long it would take to trigger that offer.

In its own specially created web page, Paramount touted the popularity of its programming among YouTube TV subscribers. 

“YouTube TV is prioritizing their own interests over a fair agreement,” the company said. 

Pivot Points

The carriage dispute arrives at a delicate time for both companies, in addition to the top-tier sports content now at risk. Paramount is attempting to finalize an $8 billion merger with Skydance, a deal in the works since last summer that has gone through numerous twists and turns—including an aborted rival bid from media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. 

That Paramount merger is now attempting to close in the midst of a new White House administration led by U.S. President Donald Trump that is placing unprecedented levels of pressure on many media outlets. 

The Google-owned YouTube TV, meanwhile, is still attempting to position itself as a more nimble and affordable option than traditional cable or satellite TV. That effort, however, is growing more difficult between the escalating costs and other carriage issues. It’s had other fractious negotiations with programmers in recent years, including one in 2021 with ESPN parent Disney that saw that company’s channels briefly pulled from the service.

Are the Red Sox again acting like a big-market MLB club that once defined the ownership era led by John Henry? A $120 million free-agent deal for infielder Alex Bregman suggests that may be the case. 

Bregman, previously a two-time champion with the Astros, agreed to a three-year contract with Boston late Wednesday, according to multiple reports, after becoming the most notable free agent left in a chilled player market. The pact, though it contains opt-outs after each of the first two years and some deferred money, features a $40 million annual salary that ties Bregman for fourth highest among all MLB players. 

More broadly, the agreement also heralds a more aggressive thinking by the Red Sox. The club’s luxury tax payroll is now nearly $237 million, the seventh highest in the league, after ranking 12th last year and in 2023. The Red Sox are now poised to play the 2025 season with the highest payroll in franchise history, and ultimately end up over the $241 million luxury tax threshold for this year. 

Back to the Past

Such activity is a marked turn for a team that became notably less aggressive in its spending over the past five years and saw stars such as Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts leave either by trade or free agency after failing to come to terms on new contracts. 

That dynamic, in turn, has made for one of the most complex team-fan relationships of any MLB franchise. On one hand, the 23-year Henry era has included the end of the famed Red Sox championship curse, three additional titles, the highly regarded restoration of Fenway Park, and more than $120 million in charitable foundation grants—a combined legacy that any team would be proud to boast.

More recently, however, the loss of icons such as Betts, reduced payrolls, and three straight non-playoff seasons have introduced a whole new level of unease among Red Sox fans. 

The addition of Bregman, however, could certainly help ease that angst, and even before the deal was formally announced, local media was cheering the development. 

“This is a strong move by the Red Sox,” wrote venerable Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy. “They have finally rewarded their fans. Just like the old days.”

In December, the Red Sox also traded for pitcher Garrett Crochet in a large-scale deal with the White Sox and added fellow hurlers Walker Buehler and Aroldis Chapman in free agency.

The 2025 Major League Soccer regular season begins Feb. 22 when Lionel Messi and Inter Miami face New York City FC to kick off a 13-game opening-day slate. 

But on Thursday, plans were revealed for a new rival league that aims to reshape the highest level of professional soccer in the U.S.

The United Soccer League announced intentions to launch a Division I men’s professional league in 2027. Currently, MLS is the only league in the country with top-tier sanctioning from U.S. Soccer. The USL operates the Division II USL Championship (24 clubs) and Division III USL League One (14 clubs).

For D-I status, U.S. Soccer requires a league to have at least 12 teams spread out across the Eastern, Central, and Pacific time zones, with 75% of clubs in metropolitan markets that have a population of 1 million, and stadium capacities of at least 15,000.

The USL did not say which cities it intends to launch D-I teams in, but several USL Championship clubs leveling up would make sense, like those in Detroit, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Louisville, Raleigh, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, San Antonio, and Tampa—none of which currently have MLS teams.

The USL’s announcement did not include any mention of MLS, which is expanding to 30 franchises this year with the launch of San Diego FC. MLS has yet to make any official comment on the USL announcement.

Second Act

This aggressive move from the USL follows last year’s launch of the USL Super League, a new women’s competition that was awarded D-I sanctioning alongside the National Women’s Soccer League. The debut USL Super League season began with eight clubs in August and runs until May. The 2025 NWSL season will run from March through November.

On the men’s side, having a D-I league could allow the USL to implement promotion and relegation, a practice common in global soccer but something MLS has never done. However, sustaining long-term promotion and relegation could be difficult, given U.S. Soccer’s sanctioning requirements.

To succeed, the USL would need a lucrative media-rights deal, strong ownership, and likely local support for stadium funding in its eventual markets.

MLS is entering the third season of its 10-year, $2.5 billion media-rights deal with Apple. The NWSL is entering the second season of four-year, $240 million deals with Amazon, CBS, ESPN, and Scripps Sports. The USL Super League has a streaming deal with Peacock, but its value is unknown.