If you're a YouTube TV subscriber we have some good news and some bad news. The good news is you're gaining access to a host of new channels. The bad news is you'll be paying for them. The even worse news is you don't have a choice in the matter.
When YouTube TV first launched it cost $35/month. In March 2018, YouTube added a host of new channels, including TNT, CNN, and Cartoon Network, and raised the price to $40/month for new subscribers. Now, everyone will be paying $50/month or more.
YouTube Hikes the Price of YouTube TV
YouTube is raising the price of YouTube TV as a result of adding eight channels from the Discovery network. These being The Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, and MotorTrend.
On the Official YouTube Blog, YouTube insists people have been asking for these channels. And yet we suspect most of those asking didn't expect them to cause a price hike. YouTube will also be adding OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network later this year.
YouTube is justifying the new price by claiming it's "giving you the content you want when you want it". YouTube TV now includes "70+ networks, 6 accounts per household (each with its own unique recommendations and cloud DVR), and 3 concurrent streams".
The price hike to $50/month (or $55/month if you get billed through Apple) will apply to all YouTube TV subscribers. New subscribers will pay the new asking price immediately, with existing subscribers charged in their subsequent billing cycle after May 13.
Is It Time to Reconnect the Cord?
This feels like a step backwards. The reason people started cutting the cord in the first place is because they were being charged for channels they had no interest in watching. Cutting the cord meant paying only for what you wanted to watch.
By forcing people to pay for the whole YouTube TV package rather than allowing them to pay for bundles geared towards their interests, YouTube is becoming the thing it was meant to replace. At this rate people are likely to start reconnecting the cord.
If this price hike has you rattled we have previously looked at Sling TV vs. DirecTV Now vs. PlayStation Vue to see how some YouTube TV alternatives compare.