Image: T-Mobile
When T-Mobile last November launched BingeOn, its zero-rating service that lets subscribers watch select streaming video services like Netflix without eating into their monthly data allotment, there was one question on everyone's mind: Where's YouTube?Well, there was another question, too, namely whether or not the service was a violation of net neutrality, but we'll get to that in a moment.T-Mobile CEO John Legere said Thursday morning that YouTube had signed on as a BingeOn partner, meaning that watching classic episodes of Game Sack will no longer count against subscribers' data allotment. As usual, Legere was modest in announcing the partnership:
YouTube isn't the only new addition to BingeOn, with Legere noting that Fox Business and Discovery Go were also just added as partners.The BingeOn addition follows a flurry of activity for T-Mobile, which earlier this week announced a partnership with Major League Baseball, giving T-Mobile customers a free year of access to MLB.tv Premium, the league's streaming video service that carries 2,430 games in the regular season.As Motherboard has noted in the past, while BingeOn has obvious consumer benefits—Netflix, YouTube, WWE Network, and more without eating into your data!—the whole program does carry with it the whiff of being against the core principles of net neutrality, or the concept that internet service providers should treat all data equally. T-Mobile, of course, has denied this being the case. And while the Federal Communications Commission did speak with T-Mobile about the issue in January, so far the program has not been publicly rebuked by the agency.8/ In conclusion: #BingeOn is kicking ass and we've got awesome new partners… including @YouTube!!
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) March 17, 2016