YOUTUBE TV RAISES ITS PRICE TO MONTHLY USD $64.99

YouTube TV announced that it’ll raise its monthly price from USD 50 per month to USD 64.99 soon after the company began offering eight ViacomCBS channels, including BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land, and VH1. “We don’t take these decisions lightly, and realize how hard this is for our members,” Christian Oestlien, VP of Product Management at YouTube TV wrote in the blog post. “This new price reflects the rising cost of content and we also believe it reflects the complete value of YouTube TV, from our breadth of content to the features that are changing how we watch live TV.”

The increase in pricing is now one of several price increases YouTube TV has seen since its debut, starting with a modest USD 5 per month bump in 2018, followed by a much more substantial price hike last year to USD 50 per month, as well as the rising costs of programming for the streaming TV service as the pay-TV industry collapses amid a rise in cord-cutting.

In May, YouTube TV that it would soon gain 14 more ViacomCBS channels as part of an expanded distribution deal. This included the addition of new channels like BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land, and VH1, which are today being made available. This brings YouTube TV’s base plan to over 85 channels. Other channels that were are a part of that same deal, including BET Her, MTV2, MTV Classic, Nick Jr., NickToons and TeenNick are due to arrive at a later date, the company noted. While YouTube TV didn’t announce its plans to raise prices back in May, at this point it’s to be expected whenever a service says it’s adding channels to its core offering.

Oestlien underscored the DVR improvements and other tech enhancements that have recently been implemented. He also noted the ability for customers to stop and start service without the 2-year contracts or legacy equipment or red tape of traditional pay-TV. “While we would love every member to continue to stay with our service, we understand that some of you may choose to pause or cancel your membership,” he wrote. “We want to make YouTube TV flexible for you, so members can pause or cancel anytime.”