YouTube TV is not the affordable cable alternative it once was, but it’s still one of the most well-received Google products in years. Many have worried that another YouTube TV price hike has been on the horizon, and a Verizon ad seemingly confirmed that was coming. However, it’s been confirmed that this was in error.
Back when it first launched, YouTube TV was a mere $34.99/month, making it a very affordable, and technically superior alternative to traditional cable or satellite TV. However, over time, the price kept going up. The last major YouTube TV price hike came in 2023, bringing the monthly price up to $72.99/month. That didn’t lead to lost interested, though, as the service had over 6 million subscribers at the time, a number that jumped to over 8 million less than a year later. YouTube TV is expected to outgrow traditional TV services by 2026.
But another price hike has been expected, especially as everything including other streaming services continues to rise in price.
A promotion being run by Verizon added fuel to these concerns, with mention of a monthly price for YouTube TV at $82.99/month. The ad for the promotion, spotted by MichaelSaves, offered Verizon customers a $10 discount on each month of their first year using YouTube TV, with the price going back to the “current subscription price of $82.99/mo” after. This was taken to mean that YouTube TV would be applying a price hike soon.
Thankfully, that’s not the case.
Top comment by D_ATL
Need better sources! I just got a notification as of 12/12/2024; my price is going up to $82.99. The percentage increase is 13.7% way above CPI that is tracking 2.7%!!!
Update 12/12: Well that was a bit cruel, huh?
Google has confirmed through the @TeamYouTube account on Twitter/X that the Verizon promotion is in error and will be fixed, effectively confirming that YouTube TV isn’t seeing a price hike at this time.
However, there is no direct confirmation that the price won’t be going up again in the future. In 2021, after a previous price hike, YouTube TV customers were told that another raise wouldn’t come in the “near term,” and it was around two years before the next hike arrived.
More on YouTube TV:
- YouTube TV now has a 24/7 ‘Enjoy the zen’ channel
- YouTube TV for Android gets resizable PiP-style miniplayer
- YouTube TV starts slowly rolling out background play on Android and iOS
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