YouTubeTV to increase subscription price by $10 a month; $82.99

[Auggie]

Just received the following via email. I like this streaming service, but for what I watch and how I watch, this price is too much.

Hi Auggie,

YouTube TV has always worked hard to offer you the content you love, delivered the way you want, with features that make it easy to enjoy the best of live TV.

To keep up with the rising cost of content and the investments we make in the quality of our service, we’re updating our monthly price from $72.99/month to $82.99/month starting January 13, 2025.

We don’t make these decisions lightly, and we realize this has an impact on our members. We are committed to bringing you features that are changing the way we watch live TV, like unlimited DVR storage and multiview*, and supporting YouTube TV’s breadth of content and vast on-demand library of movies and shows.

The price of your YouTube TV Base Plan membership will change in your first billing cycle on or after January 13, 2025, and will be charged to your payment method on file going forward. To view your current plan, go to Settings > Membership for updated information. If you are currently on a trial or promotional price for the Base Plan, that promotion is still honored and unchanged.

We hope YouTube TV continues to be your service of choice, but we understand that some of our members may want to cancel their subscriptions. As always, family managers have the ability to pause or cancel anytime. You can find more information in our Help Center.

With lots of exciting shows and live events ahead in the new year, we’ll continue to strive to deliver the best of TV, all in one place. Thank you for being a loyal YouTube TV member.

Sincerely,
The YouTube TV team

[Meadowoak]

1. Sling is going up, from $42. to $47.

[Emile]

2. I think I will stick with DirecTV.

[Fullduplexxx]

3. I left DirecTV because when my service went out they came out and they replaced

All three boxes that delivered my service because they couldn't figure out what was wrong or how to fix it so they replaced all the boxes and then they tried to Bill me $150 for the repair
They sent their guy out to fix their equipment and then they tried to bill me for it

[Emile]

6. So they tried to bill you. I hope that meant they

dropped the $150 repair bill on their equipment. If they tried that on me I wouldn't pay it either. Predatory Capitalists are always looking for a way to screw over the consumers just to make a buck more in profits.

[Fullduplexxx]

10. They tried meaning I dropped DirecTV and didn't pay the bill. They then proceeded to call me on a regular basis

Trying to get me to pay it and I kept telling them no then they sent it to collections . collections kept calling me telling me I have to pay it.. they then started revising history they telling me that it wasn't for the repair that it was for the service. Saying it was for partial month that I didn't pay I then told him I never missed a payment it was automatically deducted from my checking I also reminded them that my bill was only 10 bucks a month so there's no way that could have been for a partial month ( I got a steep discount as a perk from the company I work for) they looked it up and they agreed that I haven't missed a payment so I ask them for what is the bill then. They didn't know so they took notes and then ended the call . a month later I got a call from another collection agency . this went on for months they have since dropped the whole thing and I've started receiving these please come back emails. Obviously I haven't gone back

[Emile]

13. OMG, these companies are something else!

I had similar problems with Dish over their equipment installer. Long story . .

[berniesandersmittens]

12. When I broke up with DirecTV, it was an absolute nightmare

My contract was up. When I tried to cancel, they told me that I was automatically renewed and I would have to pay hundreds of dollars in cancelation fees.

I spent at least 5 hours on the phone. It was pure misery to the point of psychological torture.

It really felt like trying to break up with an abusive boyfriend who didn't want to break up.

[Emile]

14. After hearing Fullduplexxx story with DirecTV, I believe you!

[Basso8vb]

4. I'm canceling.

I was one of of their first subscribers at $35 bucks per month but this price hike removes any value it once had for me.

I really enjoy the service and interface but this is more than I was paying for cable when I switched.

[jimfields33]

7. The cord cutters thought they'd always beat the cable rates.

I knew from the first cord cutter that eventually everyone would pay sane or more. No way are cable companies in the business of losing money. I’ve always had cable and will until it completely goes away.

[moonscape]

19. I've stuck with cable because

1. Bundled service with internet + phone
2. Tivo! Yes, I’ve been a Tivo addict for a long time, have 3 with lifetime, and just couldn’t give them up

Always thought when cable stopped offering cable cards, that’s when I’d cut the cord. But based on prices for streaming this+that … all adds up to be not much savings.

[jimfields33]

25. Totally get all those.

It’s unfortunate that they sort of hold the winning hand.

[LearnedHand]

28. TiVo isn't needed for video on demand

You just watch whenever you want anyway.

[moonscape]

29. Yeah, but my Tivos are a

library, holding my personal collection. Hard to explain how my memory (doesn’t) work and my viewing library and habits.

Also, with Tivo I am totally ad-free, either skipping or ff’ing right through them. And not everything I save can be found via streaming.

And, I’m old and love my familiar habits

[hunter]

33. My wife and I "cut the cord" and don't regret it at all.

We quit all advertising supported television, including broadcast television, in January 2012.

Since then our television only play one to three streaming services and DVDs. Netflix is the only streaming service we consistently subscribe to. That's $15.49 a month now.

What money we save on television we probably spend on books.

[jimfields33]

35. I'm glad. It's really great that you can buy books with the

Savings.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

5. I willstick it out for now.

I looked into SLING and asked what some of the residents were paying for Xfinity and Comcast.

Even with the increase, I am getting channels I watch. I joined You Tube TV in mid 2021.

[Blue_Tires]

8. I told everyone for years that

once cable and satellite got killed off, all these streaming services would steadily creep up to cable's old price point for premium service...

My household is pretty much there now just with Prime, Netflix and Hulu... My cousin's family has those three plus Paramount, Disney, Fubo and Peacock(!)

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss...

[Skittles]

31. yup

it was inevitable

and as long as people keep paying these ridiculous prices, they will keep rising

[hlthe2b]

9. Me too. I wanted to keep it into January to watch the College Football Nat. Championship, but

if that means keeping it another month just to watch one ESPN event, I guess I'll find a bar or a friend. (the other event on January 20 is definitely one I need ZERO tv access for).

[Auggie]

11. I'd pay proportionately more for an ala carte service. I don't watch 95% of the crap available.

[Skittles]

32. can't do that

they need their BIG PROFITS!!!

[Duncan Grant]

15. By my calculations, that's an additional $50 million in revenue per month.

$600+ million per year.

That sure buys a lot of cotton candy culture and content, doesn’t it?

[Sympthsical]

16. Isn't that just a cable bill at that point?

We have Prime at $8/month via student discount, Max at $6.99 a month from a special offer. Thinking about Hulu which is offering $2.99/month for six months at the moment. I get Disney+ and some other nonsense via my Verizon plan.

And that's honestly about all that's needed given our viewing habits (one to two movies or shows a week). Anything interesting in the ends up on YouTube anyway as well as things like SNL, Daily Show, Last Week tonight, etc. One good ad blocker sorts that out.

I aspire to keep everything at around $30/month. Netflix is obviously a no-go (and my friend puts anything interesting on his Plex server anyway, so ahoy and all that).

Streaming does feel like it's trying to slowly evolve into just another cable service. Going to resist that one as long as possible.

[Coventina]

17. I'll stick with my $10 a month Apple+

Good grief!!!

[DeepWinter]

18. Bought a smart TV

with Google TV. Free, comes ith Roku, Sling, PLEX, YouTube TV, (numerous others) all for free. All you need is a WIFI.

[PeaceWave]

20. As a trial maybe. Not forever.

[DeepWinter]

21. Well

going on 5 months. Guess we'll see.

[PeaceWave]

23. You're saying you've had YouTube TV free for 5 months?

[DeepWinter]

24. So far

so good. It just came pre-installed on the TV with every other free service. There are pay channels (Disney, Apple, etc) but YouTube TV is one of the free ones. Maybe like someone else said, time limited and I just haven't hit that time yet.

[Voltaire2]

27. Are you sure it isn't just 'YouTube'?

Does it give you access to standard broadcast and cable channels?

[ThePartyThatListens]

22. I was an early adaptor to YouTube TV

I dropped it after about 2 years in one of their earlier hikes.

My brother then got on them, as he was on my family plan, now I use his.

I wonder if he'll keep it.

Inflation is something else.

That said, I understand there's a free version of DirectTV now.

I need to see what that's about.

[Voltaire2]

26. CableTvCo took over the streaming business.

Or rather, once a capitalist commodity market gets 'built out', growth, which is required in order to increase shareholder value, can only occur by monopolization of the market and enshittification of the commodity. Both are occurring now in the cable/streaming market.

[ecstatic]

30. I saw that. Streaming has turned out to be worse than freaking cable

I have YouTube TV but I am splitting it with five other people, but my issue is all the additional streaming services I have on top of it, plus paying nearly 100 a month for internet (recently down from 121). At this point I might need to go back to the days of complaining about paying $150-$200 a month to Comcast for everything.

[dalton99a]

34. It is the new cable

[hunter]

36. People act as if television is a necessity like clean safe water coming from the taps.

It's not.

If television went away tomorrow -- all of it, broadcast, cable, streaming, etc. -- it wouldn't affect my life in any significant way.

I can't say the same thing about the internet. Most of my newspaper subscriptions, magazines, journals, and books are delivered that way. It's also how my wife and I do most of our research, and it's essential for when my wife is taking call and working from home.

The most effective way to protest high cable and streaming costs, obnoxious advertising, and fascist propaganda is to simply walk away.