YouTube TV Ending Support for App Store Subscriptions in March

[ersan191]

Source for this statement? As far as I know that would be against Apple's App Store policies. Unless something has changed, Apple required that In-App purchase be the same cost as purchases outside the App.

YouTube charged $54.99 for in-app and $49.99 on their website. There are no rules against this.

YouTube TV Increases Price to $49.99/Month, $54.99/Month When Billed Through Apple

YouTube TV today announced a price hike for all users, first hitting new subscribers immediately and then arriving for existing subscribers beginning...

www.macrumors.com

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People will just stay signed up for the service just through the YouTube TV site and stay logged in on their Apple devices. You don't have to give up the service. Google was charging more for this on the App Store to make up the difference. Now anyone who wants the service and was on iOS will save 5 bucks a month.

You can find iTunes gift cards for 15-20% off several times a year, making it cheaper through IAP

 

[russell_314]

yes too many adds can be pretty annoying, specially when listening to ASMR videos.

what i found pretty dumb right now is still paying for Apple Store music lossy files when qobuz hifi is already here with lossless files....sigh.....Not in my country though.

Paying for TV is one thing but if you're paying just to avoid ads that's just silly. A simple ad blocking browser extension fixes that.

 

[MikeAnd]

For stuff like this I am surprised they didn't stop paying Apple sooner. Just dumb to cough up 30% to Apple for a subscription like this. Way to expensive and Apple can't justify a 30% cut. Apple fix your ****!!

For recurring customers it's 15%, not 30%. And honestly, the stickiness benefits alone are probably worth that to them, especially for a service of questionable value like YouTube TV.

I kept the Netflix disc subscription for years even though we used it infrequently. Then the card I had on file expired, and they cancelled it. At that point I did the math and determined it wasn't worth renewing....if they had allowed me to pay with App Store credit I'd probably still be giving them the monthly fee.

 

[coolfactor]

15% cut just to facilitate billing is ridiculous.

Yes, I think the 30%/15% cuts are too expensive. Apple really needs to review this, and lower the percentage when they are only distributing the app and processing payments (which is fully automated, no staff time required), nothing else.

 

[Zaft]

I get Apple charging a percentage for apps since it’s their store.
but to charge for a subscription? thats just wrong imo.

 

[travoose]

This is a bummer. I realize why YouTube would take this route to avoid losing 15%-30% of their profit. However, I used to buy an entire years worth of iTunes gift cards at 15%-20% off around Thanksgiving/Christmas to maximize the savings...I now have the value of about 9 months worth of YouTube TV credit in my iTunes account that I will struggle to use on other things and I will now have to start paying “out of pocket”, plus next year I won’t be able to utilize those iTunes gift card deals that I have been the past 2-3 years.

 

[coolfactor]

Thank god I return my apple 4k.... Wouldve been pissed if google tv app stopped working.

We have a winner here. Nothing will stop working. You just need to pay through a different channel.

The AppleTV 4K is fantastic. Your loss.

 

[Razeus]

I am all for Apple and taking a cut, but 30% everytime is ridiculous. Then 15% after a year seems better, but still seems too much - especially since all what Apple provides is automated billing.
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yes too many adds can be pretty annoying, specially when listening to ASMR videos.

what i found pretty dumb right now is still paying for Apple Store music lossy files when qobuz hifi is already here with lossless files....sigh.....Not in my country though.

Exactly why they show you so many ads. It's got out of hand. And Youtube has ZERO competition.

 

[Varking]

Source for this statement? As far as I know that would be against Apple's App Store policies. Unless something has changed, Apple required that In-App purchase be the same cost as purchases outside the App.

YouTube TV will cancel subscriptions of customers using Apple’s in-app payments in March

You’ll have to sign up again with a web browser.

www.theverge.com

And if you don't want to click the link this is the quote:

" Apple’s developer terms require a 70 / 30 split in a customer’s first year of paying for a subscription through the App Store. After that, the developer gets 85 percent, and Apple takes 15. YouTube TV regularly costs $49.99, but subscribers who pay through Apple are charged a higher $54.99 to help offset Apple’s rules. But apparently, YouTube no longer wants to bother with that, either. "

 

[TriBruin]

YouTube TV will cancel subscriptions of customers using Apple’s in-app payments in March

You’ll have to sign up again with a web browser.

www.theverge.com

And if you don't want to click the link this is the quote:

" Apple’s developer terms require a 70 / 30 split in a customer’s first year of paying for a subscription through the App Store. After that, the developer gets 85 percent, and Apple takes 15. YouTube TV regularly costs $49.99, but subscribers who pay through Apple are charged a higher $54.99 to help offset Apple’s rules. But apparently, YouTube no longer wants to bother with that, either. "

So apparently something has changed from the early days. I remember, for a fact, that Apple would not allow a different pricing structure (that put in the In-App purchase at a competitive disadvantage.)

 

[CarlJ]

I predict we'll see a flood of such announcements from other companies over the next 18 months OR so.

I hope Hulu takes its sweet time getting around to this. I subscribed via the app (normal "no-ads" Hulu, not HuluTV) long ago because the price was slightly better that way (actually, haven't checked lately what the outside price is).

 

[gugy]

Well if YTTV cuts their price by 30%, I would definitely be interested in subscribing it.
Also, they should have a discount package for YT Premium if you subscribe YTTV.
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Try watching with no ads one time and go back. I'll never NOT pay for YouTube.

Yeah, I see your point. My 3 month trial is about to expire at the end of the month. I am not sure I will pay $15p/m to avoid the ads. It's an annoyance but I think I can live with it.

 

[pstevem]

Its probably one of the best online streaming services out there. I have been a subscriber since it was in Beta and haven't left because every time I go try a new one like Hulu Live TV, Fubo, PSVue they lack quality features like unlimited DVR. Can you recommend a better one?

Agreed. There's plenty to complain about with YouTubeTV, but it's still better than anything else I've tested. I used it on Roku instead of AppleTV, since my AppleTV croaked and I decided to buy Roku for $50 instead of AppleTV for so much more. But that means I'm not very invested in Roku and could switch easily if there's a new AppleTV around. I could also switch off YouTubeTV easily, if someone else provides features I like (good channel selection, unlimited DVR).

 

[Rogifan]

I'd happily pay a 15% premium to keep my personal data personal.

What data is not kept personal?
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You're right, that would be ridiculous. Luckily, Apple does much, much more than facilitate billing for the 15% cut.

What is the much much more that Apple does?

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

"There's no word on why YouTube is ending YouTube TV subscriptions through the ‌App Store‌."

Profit? Just a guess...

 

[Bin Cook]

I find it amusing that people are mad that they have to pay a fee, but yet are exposed to millions of users in which they might otherwise not be able to get to.

I could have an app with 10K subscribers or through Apple increase my customer base up to 100K which will cost me 15% but yet that's revenue I otherwise would not have had. Merchants pay VISA / transaction -- it's the same thing. A subscription is buying a product - each time you use the system there is a fee. Some people aren't thankful that they can have such opportunities.

You have choices, choose to participate, or not to. But if you do I would expect you to prosper. Cost of doing business.

we’ll be sure to pass on your advice to the struggling business heads at Alphabet.

 

[69Mustang]

I'd happily pay a 15% premium to keep my personal data personal.

You mean you'd happily pay a 15% premium to allow Apple to pass your personal data along to Google to facilitate administration of the YTTV account? That's generous of you. Tell you what, I'll do the same thing for 13.5%

 

[sinsin07]

Paying for TV is one thing but if you're paying just to avoid ads that's just silly. A simple ad blocking browser extension fixes that.

Not clear how that solution would help using YT on Apple TV.

 

[nutmac]

15% cut just to facilitate billing is ridiculous.

While I think App Store does more than that, these streaming services have such a thin margin, that anything more than 5% is probably not sustainable.

Sony exited the market because it is so unsustainable, while existing players like YouTube TV is forced to increase the price significantly every year.

 

[sinsin07]

So apparently something has changed from the early days. I remember, for a fact, that Apple would not allow a different pricing structure (that put in the In-App purchase at a competitive disadvantage.)

You asked the other poster for verification of his claim, yet provided no supporting links for you above statement.

The other poster linked to a 2019 change in pricing with Netflix, however the different pricing tears can be found even further back, for example here is one from 2015:
"Spotify, for example, raised its premium subscription service from $9.99 a month to $12.99 a month when purchased through its iOS app."

Netflix adds in-app subscriptions for iPhone and iPad

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www.theverge.com

However you are correct in your statement above (from 2011):
"However, Apple does require that if a publisher chooses to sell a digital subscription separately outside of the app, that same subscription offer must be made available, at the same price or less, to customers who wish to subscribe from within the app."

Apple Launches Subscriptions on the App Store

www.apple.com

 

[i-John]

I'd happily pay a 15% premium to keep my personal data personal.

You're not paying it though... Google is.

 

[falainber]

So I should go setup my shop at the mall, tell customers go outside to pay and come back in, so that I don’t have to pay my landlord their rent because they charge based on your volume in their store? Wow. YouTube TV sucks.

App Store is not a mall. Besides, in this case the action (TV viewing) does not even happen in the App Store (the mall), it happens on the iPhone that I own. The better analogy would be:

I should go setup my shop at the mall, sell something to customers (say, insurance) and the customers would then have to pay 15-30% of the insurance premium to the mall for as long as they keep the insurance. Wow, this mall (Apple) really sucks.

 

[Bandaman]

What is PSVue's take on DVR now. I only liked them and YTTV because they had infinite capacity within the limited timeframe. Didn't like the limited capacity ones because it would always fill.

There isn’t a Vue anymore. They ended the service in January because they weren’t making any money.

 

[KanosWRX]

Paying for TV is one thing but if you're paying just to avoid ads that's just silly. A simple ad blocking browser extension fixes that.

Your an idiot, you do realize it costs money to do everything on the internet.. while blocking some ad's makes sense due to sites with obsessive ad's or very annoying ones, but most sites are not that bad, including YouTube.. and if you don't like it, its not that expensive to pay for the non ad version. Personally I like what YouTube does, has a free version for most people and those that watch it a lot can pay to avoid them. But really this is about YouTube TV which is not YouTube... its your cord cutting cable alternative.

 

[Mazeman]

Too much YouTube censorship for me to pay them for a subscription. No thanks