YouTube TV Now Available Across Every U.S. Market, FuboTV Raises Entry Level Plan to $54.99/Month

[MacRumors]

YouTube TV this week completed its nationwide rollout and is now available in every television market in the United States, with Glendive, Montana marked as the final area gaining the service (via The Verge). The end of the rollout comes two months after YouTube TV expanded to cover 98 percent of U.S. markets.

Now, YouTube TV will be even more of a competitor in the live TV streaming market, where rivals include Hulu with Live TV, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, SlingTV, FuboTV, and more. Although YouTube TV is available in every market, not every area will have all four major local networks, which is an issue some users have with many over-the-top services.

At the same time that YouTube TV completes its expansion, FuboTV this week announced its first price hike in over a year (via CordCutters). With this change, FuboTV's base backage, Fubo Standard, is now priced at $54.99/month. Previously, this entry-level package was priced at $39.99/month for the first month and then $44.99/month afterwards, so this is a $10/month price hike.

Fubo Standard includes 82 channels, a 30 hour cloud DVR, and two-screen streaming. According to Fubo, the reason for the price increase is because of the addition of popular channels over the past year, like AMC, CNN, TBS, and others. The change takes effect today for new customers signing up for Fubo Standard (with a $10 discount for the first month), and also coincides with a reorganization to its plan tiers that emerged earlier in the week.

Price hikes for live streaming TV services have been quite popular this year, most infamously for DirecTV Now. Earlier in March, the AT&T-owned company confirmed a $10 price hike for all its customers on every plan, meaning that the cheapest DirecTV Now tier is $50/month. The service also changed up its subscription plan lineup for new subscribers and increased the prices for its premium channel add-ons for existing customers.

Just under a year ago DirecTV Now increased its base "Live a Little" tier from $35/month to $40/month to be in line with the market, because most OTT services hit the $40/month price point. With all of the recent price hikes, $50/month is now closer to becoming the standard entry level price for these services, and FuboTV now has one of the most expensive entry level plans.
[*]SlingTV - $25/month for "Orange and Blue" with limited-time discount
[*]Hulu With Live TV - $44.99/month
[*]PS Vue - $44.99/month for "Access" tier
[*]DirecTV Now - $50/month for "Plus" and "Live a Little"
[*]FuboTV - $54.99/month for "Standard" For a deep dive into FuboTV and DirecTV Now, check out our comparison guide on the two streaming platforms.

Article Link: YouTube TV Now Available Across Every U.S. Market, FuboTV Raises Entry Level Plan to $54.99/Month

 

[bigcat318]

This seems to miss that the primary part of cord-cutting was not wanting to pay a high monthly fee for a bunch of channels they dont want. Slowly raising the price $10 at a time until they were better off keeping cable.

 

[AppleFan91]

As much as I dislike Google, YouTube TV is killer. I’ve tried Directvnow, PSVue and Hulu with live TV. They each have their strengths and weaknesses but YouTube beats them all. Was really hoping Apple would have entered the fray here with their announcements on Monday.

 

[Sethal]

While I can’t speak for everyone, this is stupid. With a standard streaming cable service, Netflix, Prime, HBO, Hulu, etc. how in the hell does Apple expect to compete? The market is already extremely oversaturated.

As for streaming cable I wish someone would have a truly À la carte channels subscription where I could only pay for the 4 channels I watch. Even at $5 a channel, it would be cheaper. Instead I’m left paying $50 for 4 channels and 47 channels I never ever watch.

 

[oneMadRssn]

This seems to miss that the primary part of cord-cutting was not wanting to pay a high monthly fee for a bunch of channels they dont want. Slowly raising the price $10 at a time until they were better off keeping cable.

Agreed. In my view, this isn't cord cutting at all because it's still paying a very high monthly fee for ad-supported, linearly scheduled, mostly pre-recorded programming. It's the cable bundle over a different protocol.

To me, the ultimate cordcutting means everything is either (1) cost-free, (2) on-demand and ad-free, or (3) truly live (e.g., sports).

 

[ersan191]

As much as I dislike Google, YouTube TV is killer. I’ve tried Directvnow, PSVue and Hulu with live TV. They each have their strengths and weaknesses but YouTube beats them all. Was really hoping Apple would have entered the fray here with their announcements on Monday.

Beats them on everything except their channel lineup.

 

[Just sayin...]

$54.99/Mo. has crossed into the no-go zone for me.

 

[nburwell]

So it looks like YouTube TV is now the cheapest streaming TV service that offers a full complement of channels, including live sports. I'm not counting Philo since they exclude sports channels in their packages.

 

[Zorn]

This seems to miss that the primary part of cord-cutting was not wanting to pay a high monthly fee for a bunch of channels they dont want. Slowly raising the price $10 at a time until they were better off keeping cable.

That's because these services are nothing more than cable packages without the cable company. The holy grail has always been a-la-carte pricing, where you say "I want VH1, CNBC, CNN, TBS, USA, Comedy Central, ABC, FOX, but absolutely no ESPN, NBC Sports, etc". Under this type of model, people who absolutely want zero to do with sports can opt out of those ridiculously overpriced channels like ESPN, and pay for what they do want. The content providers are deathly afraid of this, because they know the only way they can push the trash on everyone is by forcing them to pay for it to get the content they really want. Until someone figures out a way to get by the channel pricing, "cord-cutting" will just continue to be a term for "buying cable from someone who is not the cable company".

 

[picaman]

When my DirectTV Now runs out next month, I’m downsizing to Philo which is perfect for me.

 

[adamjackson]

YouTube TV this week completed its nationwide rollout and is now available in every television market in the United States, with Glendive, Montana marked as the final area gaining the service

Well, Montana actually got something before New Hampshire.

 

[arggg14]

Why on earth would they do this now? I was going to move right over to YouTube TV after the recent Direct TV Now price hike. At this point, I'm no better off with either and may need to look at cable

 

[thisisnotmyname]

boiling frogs

I discontinued DirecTV Now. I wasn't using it and was fed up with their insanely long time table to get to SSO on Apple TV so with the last round of price hikes it was a good reminder of, "oh yeah, I still have that service, I should get rid of it." I have no urgent desire to subscribe to any other "live" bundle.

For the time being I'm happy with Netflix, a selection of OTT services (HBO Now, Showtime, etc...), and buying movies and series on iTunes. Despite my repeated denigration of the service my partner still subscribes to Hulu so we have that in my household as well but I avoid it on principle ;-)

Edit to add: there's also a group that recently fended off a lawsuit based upon having picked up an old licensing agreement from a third party (I think it was a homebuilder that intended to resell cable service) with no limitations on delivery method and a validity period spanning something like 99 years. Omniverse is the engine behind a couple streaming offerings like the one marketed from HD Homerun and those are $35/mo.

 

[imwoblin]

It all really ends up being the same as cable, just different packaging. The magic words are ‘ we’re raising prices to be in line with the market’. Sorry but no joy...

 

[GIZBUG]

Hopefully now YTTV will introduce Dolby 5.1, A&E, WGN, and a few other channels people have been asking for.....

Doubtful though

 

[now i see it]

alleviating boredom (which is what TV is all about) is gunna cost you if your preferred method is to zone out on an electronic device.

Just think what $600/year could buy instead to keep your mind active, instead of turning it off watching tv.

 

[HarryWarden]

Hopefully now YTTV will introduce Dolby 5.1, A&E, WGN, and a few other channels people have been asking for.....

Doubtful though

Agree. They need to add A&E and WGN. They could dump TasteMade or whatever that channel is called along with the Olympic Channel. Surprised they don’t have the NFL Network considering they have the MLB and NBA networks.

 

[Plutonius]

I had been subscribing to Fubo for the summer months to watch the Red Sox on NESN.

I think that I will do without Fubo this summer .

 

[s54]

alleviating boredom (which is what TV is all about) is gunna cost you if your preferred method is to zone out on an electronic device.

Just think what $600/year could buy instead to keep your mind active, instead of turning it off watching tv.

This.

I discontinued all and any cable/online streaming subscriptions years ago. I don’t watch TV. Wow. I know, people gonna ask how I could possibly live like this.

Well, I can tell you for certain that my life is a lot better now. I’m more active and my mind is more relaxed.

I feel that TV desensitized me in many ways. It made my mind spin for various reasons, including how much money I wasted. It’s addictive, no doubt. But once you learn to live without TV, you will be so much happier.

 

[Plutonius]

Why on earth would they do this now? I was going to move right over to YouTube TV after the recent Direct TV Now price hike. At this point, I'm no better off with either and may need to look at cable

I think that YouTube TV will also announce price increases in the near future .

 

[Andronicus]

Which option is the best if you want to watch NFL games? I had Fubu last season and it was pretty good, but I’m wondering if there’s a better option.

 

[elgrecomac]

There is a feature that no one seems to talk about regarding YouTube TV - a family can share the same subscription. for example my brother, my son and my daughter are all on my YouTube subscription so 4 different homes in 3 different time zones. that means 4 different homes are sharing the same $40 / month subscription . All with their own local channels in their own area. Hard to beat my that!
My only complaint today with YouTube TV is the channel Guide. You cannot see a weeks worth of programming unfortunately only a few hours advance.

 

[konqerror]

There is a feature that no one seems to talk about regarding YouTube TV - a family can share the same subscription. for example my brother, my son and my daughter are all on my YouTube subscription so 4 different homes in 3 different time zones. that means 4 different homes are sharing the same $40 / month subscription . All with their own local channels in their own area.

Doesn't work like that according to Google

All family group members need to periodically use YouTube TV in your home location to keep access. If you don’t, the family manager will either have to change the family's home location or you'll need to get your own individual membership.

And you're limited to 3 streams, not 4

Family group members can use YouTube TV on up to three separate devices at the same time. Note that if one family member is watching YouTube TV on both a computer and a mobile device, this counts as two of the three available devices—even though they’re being used by the same account.

 

[JetTester]

Economics would make you think that as more people cut the cord and buy streaming TV, the price would go down. But, they priced it low to suck people in, and as the numbers grow, they are jacking the price up to try to get what the cable companies are getting. Only thing is, streaming services are much more of a pain, especially when it comes to recording, so once the price gets pretty close to cable, there is no reason not to abandon streaming services and go back to cable.

 

[Plutonius]

I just received an email from FuboTV asking me to return for the baseball season.

I will do without since I'm not paying $55 / month for FuboTV.