YouTube TV Jacks Up Prices Again Before NFL Playoffs

YouTube TV, once seen as a more affordable cable alternative, continues to increase its prices. 

The cable-subscription company will increase its price by $10 from $72.99 per month to $82.99, citing the rising cost of content as its reason. The new price is now the same as Disney’s Hulu and live TV bundle. 

The price change is effective as of Thursday for new customers, but existing users won’t take the hit until Jan. 13, the day after the NFL’s wild-card games are set to conclude. Wild-card weekend runs from Jan. 11 to Jan. 13. YouTube is giving its current subscribers one final month of its current price before hitting them with the bump in the new year. 

YouTube TV boasts more than eight million subscribers and has been seen as a popular alternative to traditional cable, which has its own rising costs. Over the years, it has added numerous options to cater to sports fans, including NFL Sunday Ticket, NBA League Pass, and multiview mode, which allows users to watch multiple NCAA tournament games at once. 

But in the seven years since its launch, the price of YouTube TV has more than doubled. 

Here’s a look at its price change over the years: 

• Feb. 2017: $34.99 at launch
• Feb. 2018: $39.99 after adding channels like TNT, Cartoon Network, TBS, and CNN
• April 2019: $49.99 after adding channels from Warner Bros. Discovery
• June 2020: $64.99 amid pandemic streaming demand and new channels from Viacom
• Mar. 2023: $72.99, citing rising “content costs”
• Dec. 2024: $82.99

The new hikes mean the price has increased a whopping $18 a month since last February.

YouTube announced the changes on its support page, which is a part of Google, the company’s owner. 

“Due to the rising cost of content, we’ve updated our membership pricing to reflect the complete value of YouTube TV,” the page now reads.