YouTube has raised the price of YouTube TV once again with a subscription now costing $64.99 per month. While YouTube originally launched as a platform for anyone to post videos to, it has grown into an advertisement hub and a lucrative platform for content creators. In contrast, the YouTube TV service only launched in 2017 and at that time, was priced at $35 per month.
Following the initial launch price, the cost of a YouTube TV subscription has steadily risen with the previous price increase bringing the cost to $50 per month. At the time, YouTube explained the last pay bump as a reaction to the growing channel list offered by the service, and that is also what is being cited now. Since its launch, YouTube TV has adapted to include channels such as Discovery Network, Food Network, and PBS, and the channel lineup is now expanding even further.
According to YouTube, the streaming service has now added BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land and VH1. That won't be all the new channels coming as YouTube says it will be adding other channels at a later date. However, the access to the additional channels is also coming with an increase in price to $64.99 per month. This affects both new and existing subscribers, with the change due to take effect starting today. Although existing members won't encounter the price rise until their next billing cycle.
Better YouTube TV Features Coming
YouTube has also recently added new features as well as channels. These changes include quicker access to parts of news stories, improved control over recorded shows, dark mode, watched sorting, and a seven-day advanced look on what's coming up. The most notable of these changes is the convenience of key plays view when it comes to the news cycle. This will allow viewers to skip around similar to how they might during a sporting event. With all these changes and new features, a price increase is inevitable, but at $64.99 YouTube TV is now considerably more expensive than it was before.
"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," states the Official YouTube Blog, but is it worth it? Though everyone can relate to the struggle of having three or more people in a home arguing over who gets to watch, that doesn't mean trading in sharing time for paying $65 per month. Considering the price change is taking effect immediately, consumers will need to quickly decide on YouTube TV's worth. At a time when people are spending more time indoors, the additional channels and greater control of news shows might sound appealing. However, with income now less stable for so many, an extra $14.99 each month could prove to be too much for some YouTube TV subscribers.
Source: YouTube