YouTube TV — a CNET Editor’s Choice award pick — announced on March 16 that it is raising its prices from $65 a month to $73 a month. New subscribers will be charged the higher price immediately, while existing subscribers will be charged the updated price starting April 18.
“As content costs have risen and we continue to invest in our quality of service, we’ll be adjusting our monthly cost … to bring you the best possible TV service,” YouTube TV wrote on Twitter, saying it’s the first increase in three years.
An update for our members. As content costs have risen and we continue to invest in our quality of service, we’ll be adjusting our monthly cost, after 3 years, from $64.99/mo to $72.99/mo, in order to bring you the best possible TV service.
— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) March 16, 2023
Though YouTube TV said new subscribers will be charged the higher price right away, the service is offering those same subscribers $10 off their first three months of the base YouTube TV plan. That means new subscribers will effectively be charged $63 for their first three months before the price reverts back to $73 a month.
YouTube TV also said it was lowering the price of its 4K Plus add-on to $10 a month. This service cost $20 a month previously.
Some people on Twitter speculated that the price increase was due to NFL Sunday Ticket coming to YouTube. But YouTube responded that the increase is because of “the broader rise of content costs.”
Brent Lawton, vice president of media strategy and business development at the NFL, said in December that Sunday Ticket would be an additional cost on top of YouTube TV. Peter King, from NBC Sports, said one source estimated the cost of Sunday Ticket would be around $300 for the season, but there’s no official figure attached to the subscription at this time.
For more, here’s what you need to know about YouTube TV’s Multiview in March Madness and how YouTube TV compares to Hulu Plus Live TV.
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