YouTube TV hiked subscription prices this week for the first time since June, 2020. The price increases are consistent with rates charged by competitors in the increasingly expensive live TV streaming industry. Here is what cord-cutting sports fans need to know about the new YouTube TV rates, including why some users will actually see a small decrease in their monthly YouTube TV bill.
Live TV streaming is getting pricier, that much is for sure. Providers like ESPN+, Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV STREAM, and fuboTV have all increased subscription prices this year, and now YouTube TV is following suit, bumping its base rate from $64.99 per month to $72.99 per month. The price increase goes into effect immediately for new subscribers, and existing subscribers will see their bills increase on April 18th.
Base Rate Goes Up; 4K Plus Price Goes Down
A silver lining of the YouTube TV price increases is the reduction in the monthly bill for 4K Plus subscribers. The popular 4K add-on has dropped from $19.99 per month to $9.99 per month for existing users.
If you’ve never added YouTube TV 4K Plus, you can add it for the first time for just $4.99 per month for the first year of service, after which the rate increases to $9.99 per month.
If you were a YouTube TV user with 4K Plus at the old base rate, your bill has actually decreased as of March 16, 2023. This is because the decrease in 4K Plus, at $10 per month, is more than the increase for the YouTube TV base rate, which added $8 per month.
These users will actually see their bill go down by $2 per month as a result of the YouTube TV pricing changes.
NFL Sunday Ticket Could Have Motivated Price Increase
With the Google-owned streaming service adding NFL Sunday Ticket in the offseason, many of us at Streaming Stadium expected that the base price of YouTube TV might be due for an increase, and sure enough, spring 2023 was the time to bump up rates.
When NFL fans add the out-of-market streaming package this fall, the fee for NFL Sunday Ticket will be charged in addition to the YouTube TV base-rate.
YouTube TV Pricing Inclusive of Regional Sports Networks
One of the “burrs in our saddle” with the fuboTV price increases after the addition of Altitude and Bally Sports RSNs was a marked-up RSN fee based on the number of regional sports networks airing in a given market.
As a practical matter, most fuboTV users live in a market with at least one regional sports network, so fuboTV tacking on an additional RSN fee made the “base rate” a teaser that doesn’t apply to most households.
By contrast, the YouTube TV price increase is inclusive of its RSN channel lineup, albeit a selection that is smaller than fuboTV and DIRECTV STREAM “Choice.”
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