The cost of a YouTube TV subscription is about to get a bit pricier. In an email sent out to customers Thursday, the streamer – owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet – announced that starting January 13, 2025, it will be increasing its monthly subscription price by $10, from $72.99 to $82.99. According to the company, the price hike is needed to “keep up with the rising cost of content and the investment we make in the quality of our service.”
“We don’t make these decisions lightly, and we realize this has an impact on our member,” the email read. “We are committed to bringing you features that are changing the way we watch live TV, like unlimited DVR storage and multiview*, and supporting YouTube TV’s breadth of content and vast on-demand library of movies and shows.”
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It continued, “We hope YouTube TV continues to be your service of choice, but we understand that some of our members may want to cancel their subscriptions. As always, family managers have the ability to pause or cancel anytime.”
YouTube TV launched in 2017, costing just $35 per month, a price that has more than doubled in the seven years since its launch. The upcoming price hike comes after YouTube TV last raised prices in March 2023, when subscription costs jumped from $64.99 to $72.99. With the upcoming price hike, YouTube TV subscribers will be paying 137% more than they did when the service first launched, and $216 more annually than they did two years ago, marking just the latest example of how cable and satellite television alternatives are quickly becoming less consumer-friendly options.
Although YouTube reiterated a commitment to “continue to strive to deliver the best of TV, all in one place” in its Thursday email, subscribers were quick to slam the movie. On X, one person wrote, “a $10 increase and you’re adding NOTHING IN RETURN?? Don’t try to f–ing gaslight me.” Another person declared that “this might be my last straw,” as somebody else asked, “Are we getting more channels or included sports packages? I might as well go get a basic cable package from comcast since they are damn near the same f–ing price.” Several others suggested it was “time to find an alternative.”
Unfortunately, those attempting to cut the cord are being left with fewer and fewer alternatives as streaming prices continue to rise, and YouTube TV’s Thursday announcement comes just a few months after Hulu + Live TV raised its prices from $76.99 per month to $82.99 per month in October. That price hike was part of a larger Disney-wide streaming service price hike that also impacted the monthly and annual ad-supported plans for the standalone services of Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu.
