YouTube TV weighs sports bundle as Fox pushes for Fox News

YouTube TV is exploring a new sports-focused subscription tier while quietly rolling out a limited-time discount to some existing customers, industry sources and user reports say, moves that come as the streaming service faces rising costs and tense negotiations with major programmers. The potential Sports Broadcast package is still in early talks and the company has not finalized which channels would be included, people familiar with discussions said, but Fox is pressing for its news channel to be bundled alongside its sports and broadcast outlets, a demand that has complicated talks with Google-owned YouTube TV.

Reports indicate conversations between YouTube TV and several networks have centered on a so-called broadcast-and-sports tier. Fox, which offers a relatively small lineup that includes a broadcast network, FS1 and Fox News, has argued that if a Fox broadcast channel is moved into a premium tier Fox News should be included as well, according to people with knowledge of the talks. That position was cited as a sticking point in recent carriage negotiations that briefly threatened a blackout of Fox channels on YouTube TV before the companies reached a temporary agreement...