- Google announced on Tuesday that YouTube TV is increasing its price from $49.99/month to $64.99/month, marking the biggest price hike in the service’s history.
- YouTube TV’s price is going up because ViacomCBS channels BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land, and VH1 are finally being added.
- YouTube TV will also add BET Her, MTV2, MTV Classic, Nick Jr., NickToons, and TeenNick in the future.
Nearly two months after announcing YouTube TV would finally be adding popular ViacomCBS channels to its service, Google has revealed the price bump that will accompany the new channels. On Tuesday, Google announced that the price of YouTube TV is being raised from $49.99/month to $64.99/month immediately for new members. All existing subscribers will see the new price reflected in their next bill on or after July 30th.
This is the most substantial price increase that YouTube TV has seen in the three years since it launched. When it first arrived in 2017, Google charged $35/month for the service. In 2018, Google hiked the price to $40/month when Turner channels were added. In 2019, the increase was even steeper, as Google started charging $50/month after adding Discovery channels. And right on cue, 2020 brings an even bigger bump.
Starting today, YouTube TV subscribers have access to BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land and VH1. BET Her, MTV2, MTV Classic, Nick Jr., NickToons, and TeenNick are going to come to YouTube TV at a later date, but Google has yet to say when they will be available. It’s also unclear if the addition of these channels will lead to another price increase, but they seem to be under the same umbrella.
“We don’t take these decisions lightly, and realize how hard this is for our members,” said Christian Oestlien, VP of Product Management at YouTube TV, in a new blog post. “That said, this new price reflects the rising cost of content and we also believe it reflects the complete value of YouTube TV, from our breadth of content to the features that are changing how we watch live TV. YouTube TV is the only streaming service that includes a DVR with unlimited storage space, plus 6 accounts per household each with its own unique recommendations, and 3 concurrent streams. It’s all included in the base cost of YouTube TV, with no contract and no hidden fees.”
The company also understands that not everyone is going to be able to accept this price hike, and pointed current subscribers who want to pause or cancel their subscriptions to this page. You can choose to pause your account from 4 to 24 weeks, and you’ll keep all your current recordings so you can pick up where you left off when you resume. Or you can cancel your membership altogether if you don’t see yourself coming back.
With its new price, YouTube TV has become one of the most expensive live TV streaming services on the market. As a point of comparison, Hulu + Live TV costs $54.99/month after its latest price hike, and also includes the entire Hulu service (with ads) in addition to most of the same channels as YouTube TV.
