YouTube TV

YouTube TV told to stop ‘$600 less than cable’ ads following price hikes

Ben Schoon | Aug 23 2023 - 11:22 am PT

YouTube TV was once a no-brainer replacement for the expensive costs of cable TV, but that’s quickly changed over the years as the service’s price has continued to climb. Now, Google is in hot water for saying that YouTube TV is still drastically cheaper than cable.

The National Advertising Division (a part of the BBB National Programs which aims to keep advertising truthful) has officially “recommended” that Google stop advertising YouTube TV under the claim that the streaming service is “$600 less than cable.”

Advertisements for YouTube TV make that claim compared to “comparable standalone cable” services that include two set-top boxes per household. The claim is also based on YouTube TV’s pricing in January 2023, which was $64.99/month. That cost has since increased while YouTube TV has been running these ads to $72.99/month.

Charter Communications, the owner of Spectrum, raised the issue with the NAD that Google’s claim was flawed as many cable companies, Spectrum included, often now provide streaming-based access to live TV channels at no extra cost for secondary televisions and mobile devices.

The NAD explains:

The price calculation underlying the challenged claim includes the cost of two set-top boxes per household for “standalone cable” services. NAD found, however, that this comparison is not a good fit for the challenged claim comparing YouTube TV’s pricing to “cable” generally since cable providers like Charter offer streaming options that may not require a set-top box.

The NAD recommends that Google stop its claim that YouTube TV costs “$600 less than cable” in advertising but that the company can continue to make “truthful and non-misleading claims” regarding the service’s pricing compared to traditional cable services.

One example of YouTube TV using this “$600 less than cable” tagline can be found in an advert published in June.

In a breakdown earlier this year when YouTube TV’s price jumped up to $72.99/month, we found that the platform is indeed still “less than cable,” but not by much.

YouTube’s annual cost is currently around $875, assuming no add-ons, whereas Spectrum’s standard rate with two set-top boxes is over $1,400 before including fees. DirecTV, Comcast, and other traditional TV options were also more expensive than YouTube TV in our findings, but Google’s claim of “$600 less” is certainly quite a big stretch given the latest price hike and changes from other providers.

Is YouTube TV still cheaper than cable?

In a statement, though, Google said that it “unequivocally disagrees” with the NAD’s decision and that it will appeal because the company “believes that consumers broadly understand the difference between traditional cable and streaming and that they do not interpret ‘cable’ or ‘standalone cable’ offered via a ‘cable box’ as encompassing streaming services, regardless of who provides them.”