It’s been years since I made the financially necessary switch from DirecTV to a streaming platform, with a YouTube TV subscription becoming my go-to for live TV offerings. It’s been a pleasant partnership thus far, with next to zero issues amassed, so I‘ve no regrets about the move, especially where NFL Sunday Ticket deals are concerned. But the service is now issuing its second price hike in less than two years, and other streaming service deals suddenly look extremely attractive.
Before going further with personal reactions to the news, let’s first take a closer look at the details of the uptick in price, as well as YouTube TV’s official reasoning for it.
How Much Is YouTube TV Going Up In Price?
YouTube TV began alerting subscribers in mid-December about the impending rise in monthly costs for customers. This time around, the price for the base plan is going up a whopping $10, and those monthly fees will now come out to $82.99.
The company put the news out a month ahead of the price hike actually going live. The new price will take effect on January 13, which could absolutely play into how millions of viewers will get to enjoy the 2025 TV schedule. Because for all that price-gouging is common in this area of home entertainment, with all streaming services raising costs at unspecified intervals, YouTube TV’s upticks are pretty exorbitant in comparison, since sticking with the service will now set back customers an extra $120 each month. (Those currently paying promotional discounts will not be affected until the promotional periods end.)
Take a look at the past two years of price increases, which followed around three years without any changes.
| Price Until Spring 2023 | $64.99/month |
| Price From Spring 2023 - Winter 2024 | $72.99/m (+$8) |
| Price From Winter 2024 Forward | $82.99/m (+$10) |
Asking customers to pony up an extra $18 in less than two years, without actually offering existing customers many (if any) additional reasons to stick around, is a questionable move for YouTube TV. Especially considering the service first launched in 2017 at $34.99/month, which means its next uptick will mark a 137% increase.
The company's explanation for the changes hasn't exactly won them any goodwill, either.
How YouTube TV Explained Its Next Price Increase
In the email sent out to subscribers, as well as in a series of messages posted on social media, YouTube TV shared this when announcing its price uptick:
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.
The company doesn't actually go into detail about what the "Rising cost of content" or its "investments" entail, so it's not entirely clear why such a large increase is necessary, nor whether or not customers can expect further increases down the line. Perhaps a rise in customers requires more upkeep behind the scenes to make sure the user experience remains positive for those who choose to stick around.
Speaking of, here's how YouTube TV continued its message:
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.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.
At least those involved with making this decision have the understanding that some users will make their own decisions to end their plans. Good on them, I suppose, since the comments that followed the announcement were right in line with my feelings about changing to a different service.
Customers Like Me Are Thinking About Switching Services
To be expected, perhaps, the comment section below YouTube TV's messages on X.com quickly filled up with negative reactions from subscribers who voiced their intentions to leave the service behind. Check out a smattering of the rage and disappointment below:
- “To keep up with rising costs..” lie. Outright lie. You all want to make more money plain and simple. Cancelling January 21 after the college football national championship. - @bdactual
- You’ve literally offered nothing new since I got you for $54 a month. You’re greedy and should be ashamed - @i_shoot_RAWs
- Cancelled. Most of us want a handful of channels - not a recreation of Comcast bundles. - @DavidAlGregory
- Cancelled this morning after using it for over five years. It’s not worth it. - @MissJilianne
- What are the rising content costs? Be specific. You offer the same channels as you did four years ago. You don't offer any lesser packages at all. At least give us options to lower the cost. We should be able to have a baseline options with local channels, sports, weather channel, and some other channels for $40 flat fee. This is mind boggling that you think $1,000 a year is justifiable for live TV service. - @redraidertech
- If you think the new Zen channel justifies this, I got news... - @UCNote
Understandably, quite a few of the comments were also aimed at the fact that streaming companies were supposed to be good alternate options to the stronghold of cable and satellite companies. I think that sentiment was summed up best with the following Family Guy imagery.
pic.twitter.com/reX86fgd0tDecember 12, 2024
It should be interesting to see if this highly negative reaction to the price increase sparks any follow-up actions from YouTube TV execs by way of introducing more customizable plans. Considering they haven't arrived yet, my optimism isn't strong, but we shall see.
