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

[Palliser]

Been a cord cutter and HD antenna user for 7+ years now. I just don’t watch that much TV and I rent Blu-Ray movies at the library or watch digitally with the Hoopla app connected to my library account.

Every price hike that goes by will make people look again at Bundling TV with their ISP. Soon it will make sense with these prices as they continue to rise.

 

[zorinlynx]

Is it me or is there pretty much no point to this?

For $50 a month you can subscribe to several streaming services like Netflix, HBO, Hulu and so on, and be able to watch pretty much anything on-demand. Live TV is so last decade.

I can see this maybe being great for sports fanatics, but even they can subscribe to MLB, NFL, NBA, etc.'s streaming services and watch any game they want.

Who is the target market for this?

 

[cardfan]

Deal with Comcast or satellite again? Been there done that. Broadcast Tv fees. Sports fees. Per tv fees. Dvr fees. Constant marketing calls. Having to threaten to cancel every few months. The lousiest CustomerService on earth.

50 a month is getting up there but being able to apply discounted gift cards and being able to hit that cancel button is golden. And never having to get on that phone to talk with one of these jokers. Priceless.

 

[mmomega]

If no-one expected the price hikes to happen then I am going to say, you've been telling yourself a false story.

If you were a cable or satellite cutter from way back, then be grateful for the few years of lower pricing you had until the prices began increasing again.

It's business, they enter a new market, start gaining their foothold until they have enough people using it daily to then slowly start increasing pricing. They will continue increasing pricing until growth stops and or begins falling off.
When it started no-one had an idea of what pricing should be for that market so they just throw something out and see if people bite.
Now with years of experience they will fine tune it again to get better profits.


On my particular case, I am still saving a great deal more on TV than with DirecTV previously.
My bill, after factoring in Sunday Ticket, average around $300 a month. And with that I had the issues that I had with DirecTV. Where I had to pay up front for boxes x 7, and then rent them per month on top of the subscription fee and then I could not upgrade my boxes unless I again bought them myself outright, even then they aren't yours and if you keep them after turning off your service you get charged a few hundred bucks per box for not returning them at that point they were yours but doesn't matter because you still get a per box fee to access the account with it.
They would put you together like a 3 piece suit on box insurance and you can only have the option to request an upgraded box every 2 years and then it was up to the installer that comes to your house which box you received that day.

Now I primarily use YoutubeTV and got in on Spectrums streaming only TV at a good price point prior to them raising so I am around $85 a month with the same amount of programming as previously.

AppleTV+ make shake it up again in the fall but I will wait and see until pricing is released and what all is offered.
YouTubeTV is still my favorite for the time being.
Hulu with Live just had a not so good interface and pushed me away as I used it less and less until I cancelled it all the way down to the basic level just because I have had them since their initial release and am for whatever reason just holding on to that account.

 

[sracer]

I don't think it is a coincidence that Netflix is raising their rates for one of their packages and YouTube TV is doing that as well. Perhaps they received an inside tip as to what Apple's service is going to cost.

 

[freddiebarnes]

Wow. It’s almost pointless to cut the cord anymore. With the Comcast bundle I’m in right now I get 150mb internet and cable tv for just about $100 a month, including taxes and box fees, and I own my own cable modem. That package will increase about $60 in 24 months, but I’ll deal with that when the time comes. By then, who knows how these streaming services will be priced. But right now, if i were to just pay for cable internet (my only other option is DSL) and one of these streaming services, I’ll be paying more and getting less channels. Comcast, for me at least, is very reliable and I know what I’m getting and what to expect. I’ve tried out the trials of almost all the streaming services and wasn’t too impressed with how you navigate through the live channels and DTV Now was the worst. Comcast wins again.

Edit... BTW, I wish Comcast would make an Apple TV app for their streaming app. If they did that, I could return my cable boxes and save like $15. But it doesn’t seem like they’re ever going to do it. Their iOS app is great.

Edit2. Not to mention Xfinity Mobile. I pay practically nothing for 2 (paid off) iPhones. Just taxes + $12 if I end up using up to a gig of data. I’m almost always on WiFi so I hardly use mobile data. So all in all I’m probably saving money with Comcast.

 

[nburwell]

And to think I was going to switch to YouTube TV once my promotion with Directv Now expires in July. If it weren't for live sports, I'd be content with just Netflix/Hulu/Amazon/HBO.

Almost makes me think would I be better off adding Fios cable to my Fios internet. Probably not though. At this point, I'll probably stick with Directv Now since I'll still be getting HBO for $5/month (paying $55/month which is cheaper than YT TV + HBO or PS Vue + HBO).

 

[2010mini]

You'll get anything cheaper with discounted iTunes gift card but do you want to support this kind of behaviour from YouTube?
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Pays $55 a month and have the service sucking your personal data uncontrollably. What a bargain!

Funny. Most people blame pay tv providers for the cost of supplying content. When it is actually the studios are local broadcast networks that are directly responsible. Pay tv providers are being bent over just like their customers.

But no one blames the studios.

Content is expensive to produce and is also risky. There is no guarantee studios will get a return on their money for content. So yeah, they charge more because they can and need to.

 

[jbachandouris]

I'll stick to cable, thanks. The prices suck, but I get 100MB speeds, DVR, and phone (with kids and the need to fax occasionally, we still use this).

Trying to cobble it all together using multiple steaming sources is more trouble than it's worth.

 

[Stella]

Streaming services are the new cable.

Exactly.

With media and studio companies ( Disney et al ) wanting their own streaming services, cable will be cheaper after you've got all those streaming services for your favourite shows.
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Are these companies trying to help launch Apple TV+?

Lets see what Apple TV+ is actual like. Apple haven't even announced any pricing.

 

[myrtlebee]

What I want to know is how people have so much time on their hands that they can subscribe to all these services and make use of them. Must be nice to have that kind of free time. Or not... rather be doing something better than constantly watching hours and hours of video now that I think about it.

 

[sracer]

What I want to know is how people have so much time on their hands that they can subscribe to all these services and make use of them. Must be nice to have that kind of free time. Or not... rather be doing something better than constantly watching hours and hours of video now that I think about it.

That is essentially no different than people who have their noses buried in their smartphones all day.

 

[lenard]

Deal with Comcast or satellite again? Been there done that. Broadcast Tv fees. Sports fees. Per tv fees. Dvr fees. Constant marketing calls. Having to threaten to cancel every few months. The lousiest CustomerService on earth.

50 a month is getting up there but being able to apply discounted gift cards and being able to hit that cancel button is golden. And never having to get on that phone to talk with one of these jokers. Priceless.

I could not agree more....

 

[myrtlebee]

That is essentially no different than people who have their noses buried in their smartphones all day. View attachment 831676

True! That would not be me, however.

 

[tsrail]

I left DTV Now last month after the price hike. Not thrilled with YoutubeTV’s Hike today (25%+ hike!?! ...And they wonder why customers complain...), but very pleased with the service compared to DTVnow. YT TV is much better all around, in my experience.

 

[MadeTheSwitch]

It's business, they enter a new market, start gaining their foothold until they have enough people using it daily to then slowly start increasing pricing

I’m actually okay with slow pricing increases. I am not expecting everything to stay the same price forever. But for me this represents a $15 a month increase for channels I do not watch. So for me the price increase isn’t slow, but rather steep and abrupt....for content I don’t even want.

Content is expensive to produce and is also risky

But wasn’t that always the case? The price increases seem to be out of scale.

 

[2010mini]

I’m actually okay with slow pricing increases. I am not expecting everything to stay the same price forever. But for me this represents a $15 a month increase for channels I do not watch. So for me the price increase isn’t slow, but rather steep and abrupt....for content I don’t even want.



But wasn’t that always the case? The price increases seem to be out of scale.

No it is not. Costs to create content goes up. Your costs go up.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Even with the increase in price from my grandfather $35 to $50, it is still less than half of the $130 I was paying for DirecTV satellite so I am way ahead.

That must be precisely the calculus they did at YTTV headquarters.

Just a bummer they aren't honoring grandfathered pricing, which is abnormal for Google actually.

 

[lec0rsaire]

What did people expect? Streaming was only going to be cheap while it wasn’t mainstream. These people aren’t just going to lie down and lose the revenue they’re used to. If you want live cable TV you’re going to pay a lot for it no matter if you it get through cable or IP.

You may as well go back to cable and get a real DVR, all of the channels and live sports unless Netflix, Amazon and Hulu are enough for you.

 

[senseless]

I’m not paying for the priviledge of watching repetitive content with a nearly 50% load of annoying commercials.

 

[RobNYC]

At this point, maybe I should just get the HD antenna for local live channels and then rely on Hulu, Netflix and HBO.

 

[FairlyKors]

After streaming specifically what I want to watch for the past decade, trying out these services makes me feel like I’m paying to be advertised to.

I’ve gotten used to not seeing ads, and I’m not willing to go back. All the more reason now that it costs $50+ a month just to sit there and watch commercials.

Netflix will be on its way out of my lineup soon if they keep upping their prices.

I completely agree. Well, in addition to paying for the opportunity to watch ads, I also see absolutely nothing I’d want to watch sans ads either. CNN, Fox News, MSNBC? You shouldn’t have to pay to acquire new mental illnesses either. Since I’m not into sports, I see absolutely nothing I’d watch. So, paying $55 for this stuff that’s also1/3 ads??? Shouldn’t you be getting paid $55 to watch it?

I subscribe to Netflix and 4 or 5 other small OTT services, like HBO Now, MUBI, GuideDoc, Prime—and I’m completely happy paying for these since they all stream content I *want* to watch and they are *not* 1/3 ads (combined with countless embedded advertising aimed at the DVR user).

 

[LbrTradr]

I have been streaming Directv Now and also YouTube TV. The reason I had both was because Directv Now does not have NBCSNW channel for the Portland Trailblazers. At least not yet. Anyway I cancelled YouTube TV yesterday. I'm not going to pay them $50 when I get Directv Now with HBO for $30. I'm a AT&T cell phone user and that is a great deal. And the $30 is after the latest price increase. Bye Bye YouTube TV.

 

[Joe h]

Give dishnetwork $110 for every channel, plus get a 16 tuner commercial skip dvr, or subscribe to 2 or 3 streaming services at $40 each, without commercial skip and some, like at&ts, that don’t even have a dvr service.

 

[charlituna]

So much for not being Yet Another Cable Company.

I feel like this needs to be posted.

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Apple TV is the best in-home entertainment experience. I can't wait to get Apple TV+.

Apple TV is hardly ‘the best in home entertainment experience’ when it relies on other companies like cable. We shall see what happens when their ‘channels’ and ‘plus’ launches