These days, traditional TV is becoming less and less common. With the advent of streaming, people can choose what to watch when they want to watch it. YouTube TV launched back in 2017 with the promise to bring cable into the modern age. Over the years, the service has added a lot of features, but at what cost? Today, Google is announcing that eight new channels from ViacomCBS are live on YouTube TV, along with a price jump from $49.99 up to $64.99.
While it's great to see more channel choices come to YouTube TV, these additions aren't without cost. As the service has grown through the years, Google has had to increase the prices. YouTube TV cost just $35 per month when it first debuted. With today's announcement, the price rises to $64.99 – almost double the initial cost. This pricing takes effect for new subscriptions today, and comes to existing subscribers with their next billing cycle on or after July 30.
Earlier this year, Google relayed its intention to add 14 new channels to YouTube TV. Eight of the channels were slated to land this summer, with the other half coming "later". Starting today, the first half of these promised additions are going live. The following eight channels are now available on YouTube TV:
- BET
- CMT
- Comedy Central
- MTV
- Nickelodeon
- Paramount Network
- TV Land
- VH1
At this point, YouTube TV is basically the same price as many cable subscriptions. Of course, it still boasts cool features like Cloud DVR and sharing with family members, but is that enough? It'd be one thing if existing subscribers were grandfathered in with their current prices, like Google did with Google Play Music subscriptions, but that isn't the case here. Every price increase will make many consumers examine if the cost/value balance they're getting from YouTube TV is warranted.
Source: YouTube