YouTube has Announced which is raising the price of its YouTube TV subscription to $72.99 per month. The new monthly price is an increase of $8 from the current monthly rate of $64.99. New members will see the new price starting today, while existing members will see the price change starting April 18. The Google-owned company blames an increase in “content costs” for the change. To soften the blow, the company announced that it will lower the price of its 4K Plus add-on from $19.99 per month to $9.99 per month.
“As content costs have increased and we continue to invest in our quality of service, we will adjust our monthly cost, after 3 years, from $64.99/month to $72.99/month, to provide you with the best possible TV service. said the company in a tweet.
YouTube TV notes that this is its first price increase in three years. In July 2020, the price of YouTube TV increased from $49 to $64.99. The service debuted in 2017 at $35 per month.
“We are committed to offering you a premium way to stream TV, but please understand that this new price may not work for you,” the company said in a statement. a tweet “We hope YouTube TV will continue to be your service of choice, but we want to give you the flexibility to cancel at any time.”
YouTube TV recently announced a landmark broadcast deal with NFL Sunday Ticket, previously only available through DirecTV in the US. The multi-year deal is reportedly worth $2 billion per season. Starting next season, NFL Sunday Ticket will be available on two of YouTube’s subscription businesses as an add-on package on YouTube TV and as a standalone on-demand on YouTube primetime channels. With YouTube TV becoming the new home for NFL Sunday Ticket this fall, the price increase is unfortunately no surprise.
It’s worth noting that YouTube TV isn’t the only service to recently introduce a price hike, as its competitors have followed suit. Sling TV increased its plans by $5 last November, and FuboTV also increased fees by $5 a month in January. Additionally, DirecTV Stream implemented rate increases from $5 to $10 in January, while Hulu increased the cost of the Hulu Live TV package in December from $64.99 per month to $69.99 per month.
The price hike comes the same week YouTube TV launched “multi-view” early access, an option that allows viewers to watch up to four different pre-selected streams at the same time.
