Great American Family said on Thursday it is now available on YouTube TV, concluding a lengthy effort to get its content on the streaming platform.
Great American Family has made a name for itself as an alternative to wholesome movie channels like Hallmark, but up until Thursday, it couldn’t be streamed via YouTube TV after “every conceivable way” was offered.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr sent a letter to Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, and YouTube expressing concern over YouTube TV “discriminating against faith-based programming.” Carr cited Great American Family’s growth as the second fastest growing channel among cable television.
Great American Family also announced that its streaming service, Great American Pure Flix, will soon be available on YouTube’s Primetime Channels lineup.
“This agreement ensures that Great American Family is available live to even more viewers across the country. YouTube TV has become a vital platform for families who want the best of traditional cable channels in a modern streaming package, and we are excited to make our networks part of their lineup,” Great American Media CEO Bill Abbott said in a news release.
Abbott told the Washington Examiner in November that YouTube TV had yet to pick up his network, even after offering it “for free.” Despite this, he remained “hopeful” that the streamer would pick up his network’s content, saying it could do so “at any point of time.”
YouTube TV and Hulu are also picking up C-SPAN this fall, marking the end of a seven-year battle for the television network to secure a spot in the streaming world.
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Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) celebrated the news, saying it would allow U.S. citizens to watch “democracy at work through a non-partisan lens.”
YouTube also announced Wednesday that it is partnering with C-SPAN to cover the United States’s 250th anniversary celebration. YouTube said it would provide more details regarding this in the coming weeks.