YouTube TV hikes monthly subscription price to $65

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 54
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Google goes on to say that because some people will find the $65 service too expensive and choose to pause or cancel their subscription they're working on some kind of "flex plan" without any further detail on what that means. I agree with other commenters that this is approaching the old cable plans pricing so no idea what Google is thinking. Flex plans better be far smaller channel packages at far lower prices or subscribers will flee.

    By the way as of the end of 2019 YoutubeTV had 2 million paying subscribers .
    https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/youtube-tops-20-million-paying-subscribers-youtube-tv-has-over-2-million-customers-1203491228/

    muthuk_vanalingamRayz2016
  • Reply 22 of 54
    shaminoshamino Posts: 527member
    ericesque said:
    It can depend heavily on what’s available in your area. The ONLY cable option to our home is Comcast. 

    The cheapest package I can seem to get from Comcast is $80 once you add in hidden fees for HD content and local sports broadcast fees. This is literally double their advertised price.
    FWIW, I'm paying $144/mo (including all the taxes) for Dish Network.  This is broken down into:
    • $98: "America's Top 250" - basically every non-premium channel they offer
    • $12: My local TV channels
    • $26: Equipment rental for a Hopper (multi-room DVR) and two Joeys (remote receivers for the Hopper)
    • $8: taxes
    I could theoretically reduce the $110 worth of programming down to $43 (reducing the total bill to about $80), but that would eliminate my local channels (I'm not in a place where a roof antenna would work to receive them) along with many channels I really like to watch (which are only available in the largest tier).

    That having been said, I'm basically paying 38 cents per channel for 290 channels (including locals) or 50 cents per channel if you include equipment rental and taxes.  Also bundled is the full suite of Sirius-XM music channels and a fairly decent catalog of on-demand titles.

    Google is charging 76 cents per channel for 85 channels, and the virtual DVR means you can't access your recorded content when there's an Internet outage (especially important for Comcast Internet customers :-( )
  • Reply 23 of 54
    mubailimubaili Posts: 453member
    LOL what a joke. from 40 channels for a modest $35, to almost 100 channels at $65 -- exactly what people didn't want in the first place. More crap, bigger price. And a 30% single increase? Nuts!

    Google has lost the script.
    I guess Google learned the hard way that doing content is hard and doing hardware is also hard. 
    lolliverchasmwatto_cobra
  • Reply 24 of 54
    Same here. I got sick of paying $80+ dollars on a cable bundle and this is getting to that point. Even more now with the addition of these latest channels.


    hcrefugee said:
    I cut the cord to cut the bloat -- in channels and price. Now this? Paying for channels I'll never watch? Again? WTF.

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 25 of 54
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    Utterly nutty. 
    cornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 26 of 54
    bonobobbonobob Posts: 382member
    So as they double and soon triple the price, I still watch the same amount of TV as before.  What a rip off!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 27 of 54
    fatkid98fatkid98 Posts: 16member
    As a YTTV subscriber, I’m not entirely thrilled by the increase, although I get why the price went up. Aside from a handful of shows my kids will watch on Nick Jr, we won’t wanly house anything else. Is that worth an extra $15 per month. Not at all. But the only real alternative to a streaming live video service is Hulu with Live TV. That service is $55 per month with a crippled DVR. To get their “advanced DVR”, it’ll cost you an extra $9.99 per month and now you’re at the same price as YTTV, but less channels and a still limited DVR compared to what YTTV has.
  • Reply 28 of 54
    ericesqueericesque Posts: 28member
    shamino said:
    ericesque said:
    It can depend heavily on what’s available in your area. The ONLY cable option to our home is Comcast. 

    The cheapest package I can seem to get from Comcast is $80 once you add in hidden fees for HD content and local sports broadcast fees. This is literally double their advertised price.
    FWIW, I'm paying $144/mo (including all the taxes) for Dish Network.  This is broken down into:
    • $98: "America's Top 250" - basically every non-premium channel they offer
    • $12: My local TV channels
    • $26: Equipment rental for a Hopper (multi-room DVR) and two Joeys (remote receivers for the Hopper)
    • $8: taxes
    I could theoretically reduce the $110 worth of programming down to $43 (reducing the total bill to about $80), but that would eliminate my local channels (I'm not in a place where a roof antenna would work to receive them) along with many channels I really like to watch (which are only available in the largest tier).

    That having been said, I'm basically paying 38 cents per channel for 290 channels (including locals) or 50 cents per channel if you include equipment rental and taxes.  Also bundled is the full suite of Sirius-XM music channels and a fairly decent catalog of on-demand titles.

    Google is charging 76 cents per channel for 85 channels, and the virtual DVR means you can't access your recorded content when there's an Internet outage (especially important for Comcast Internet customers :-( )
    I watch less than 25 channels. Was happy to pay $45/mo. So you could say I’d gladly spend $1.80 per channel for the right channels. I consider the other 60 (or 265 in your case) channels absolutely no value-add. I also do not depend on TV for entertainment so much that having access during a power outage (very nearly the only time I’ve faced a Comcast Internet outage) to be worth paying for either.  So even though I’d be less than thrilled to pay $65 for the same value, if it’s still the cheaper option, I’ll take it over Comcast or Dish. 

    I’m not suggesting my preferences hold any more value than yours. I’m also not suggesting I’m in the majority. Simply trying to explain why I may be willing to subscribe at this price.  I currently have Hulu basic and only subscribe to a live TV package only during the college football and basketball season. Since it’s a quickly evolving market I’ll certainly shopping around before signing up for anything this fall. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 29 of 54
    matrix077matrix077 Posts: 868member
    tzeshan said:
    LOL what a joke. from 40 channels for a modest $35, to almost 100 channels at $65 -- exactly what people didn't want in the first place. More crap, bigger price. And a 30% single increase? Nuts!

    Google has lost the script.
    $6-8 per channel seems more appealing. 
    This is why I’m paying $5 a month on Arrow Channel on Apple TV. I like 70s 80s B-movies. 
    chasm
  • Reply 30 of 54
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    LOL what a joke. from 40 channels for a modest $35, to almost 100 channels at $65 -- exactly what people didn't want in the first place. More crap, bigger price. And a 30% single increase? Nuts!

    Google has lost the script.
    No, Google is just following the cable companies' script and forgetting why people are leaving them in droves in the first place.

    tzeshan said:
    LOL what a joke. from 40 channels for a modest $35, to almost 100 channels at $65 -- exactly what people didn't want in the first place. More crap, bigger price. And a 30% single increase? Nuts!

    Google has lost the script.
    $6-8 per channel seems more appealing. 
    you must work for cable marketing
    edited June 2020 watto_cobra
  • Reply 31 of 54
    supadav03supadav03 Posts: 503member
    EVERY single streaming service has hiked prices. ATT, YouTube, Sling, etc. This “cord-cutter” future was all BS. And if you EVER thought you were going to pick channels for $1-$3 each you are a fool. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 32 of 54
    rbnetengrrbnetengr Posts: 72member
    gatorguy said:
    Google goes on to say that because some people will find the $65 service too expensive and choose to pause or cancel their subscription they're working on some kind of "flex plan" without any further detail on what that means. I agree with other commenters that this is approaching the old cable plans pricing so no idea what Google is thinking. Flex plans better be far smaller channel packages at far lower prices or subscribers will flee.

    That’s not what they said. This is what they said:
     We hope YouTube TV continues to be your service of choice, but we also understand that some members may want to cancel their service. All members have the flexibility to pause (your current library recordings will be kept) or cancel anytime.

    So, you can pause your subscription and have access to your DVR recordings until they expire (9 months from date of recording)


  • Reply 33 of 54
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    What is YouTube TV? Why do I need it?
    muthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
  • Reply 34 of 54
    drhamaddrhamad Posts: 34member
    halhiker said:
    Great.  Add a bunch of channels I will never watch and jack up the price.  No thanks.  At that price, cable is cheaper and more convenient.  Who would have ever thought that to be possible?
    Everyone that had a thought, if they didn't want a significant decrease in channel availability?  It's why I never dropped cable... pricing it out, cutting the cord saved almost nothing.  It only saved significant money if you wanted to drop some major channels, especially once you accounted for the increased cost of internet without TV.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 35 of 54
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    People seem to watch an unhealthy amount of TV.  I get that during this pandemic, and I can’t help but suspect Google’s timing on this increase.  But after the pandemic fades and everything gets back to sufficiently normal that we can go out and live life, please do so.  

    I’m in Cebu, Philippines, officially the most locked down city on earth, exceeding the Wuhan lockdown a couple weeks ago and still no end in sight.  I’m stuck in my 260sqft rental studio condo, the pool and gym are closed and I can’t leave the building without a special pass, of which this 180-unit building shares ten for borrowing at the lobby.  Caught out doing anything other than going for essential goods and services or medicine and you are arrested.  And even as I sit here, the TV remains off most of my days.  I still can find more to do (exercise, read, cook, clean) than to simply absorb the rays from the big screen on the wall.  
    edited July 2020 rotateleftbytemuthuk_vanalingamchasmwatto_cobra
  • Reply 36 of 54
    This will go the way of so many other Google projects, right down the toilet. I could see $65 if their going to throw in the internet service!
    chasmwatto_cobra
  • Reply 37 of 54
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    What is YouTube TV? Why do I need it?
    The article is pretty clear if you read it.  And if questions remain, you're probably aware of the website where you can find out more, YouTube is quite famous, or you can try using a search engine.
  • Reply 38 of 54
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    rbnetengr said:
    gatorguy said:
    Google goes on to say that because some people will find the $65 service too expensive and choose to pause or cancel their subscription they're working on some kind of "flex plan" without any further detail on what that means. I agree with other commenters that this is approaching the old cable plans pricing so no idea what Google is thinking. Flex plans better be far smaller channel packages at far lower prices or subscribers will flee.


    That’s not what they said. This is what they said:
    ” We hope YouTube TV continues to be your service of choice, but we also understand that some members may want to cancel their service. All members have the flexibility to pause (your current library recordings will be kept) or cancel anytime.”

    So, you can pause your subscription and have access to your DVR recordings until they expire (9 months from date of recording)
    You stopped reading a paragraph too early. This is exactly what they said:
    "While we would love every member to continue to stay with our service, we understand that some of you may choose to pause or cancel your membership. We want to make YouTube TV flexible for you, so members can pause or cancel anytime here. As the streaming industry continues to evolve, we are working to build new flexible models for YouTube TV users..."
  • Reply 39 of 54
    larryalarrya Posts: 606member
    strells said:
    Ugh.  Unless they add ad-free YouTube to this without having to get the separate YouTube Premium, it just doesn't seem worth it.
    They don't?  Holy shit.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 40 of 54
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Cable TV without the cable!   What a brilliant idea!   Except that the problem with cable was hardly limited to the cord.  

    Isn't this exactly what Apple was rejecting when they created the app driven AppleTV -- you buy only for what you want to watch?
    chasmwatto_cobra
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