YouTube TV price to increase
So YouTube TV is going to add the discovery channel and HGTV and increase my price $15/mo. Supposedly there were never going to be price increases.
Not so much, now.
So I've just fallen out of love with YouTube. Anyone got a compelling reason to switch to Hulu TV or another alternative?
I use Hulu Live (which also recently had a price increase). Beyond having a broader channel base, the streams are a lot more consistent. I very rarely have the buffering issues that I did with Sling or YouTube TV. Maybe that's all of the platforms getting better, but it's been noticible.
Hulu Live is now $44.99/mo. That includes 2 simultaneous streams and 50hrs of DVR (shared between users). You can upgrade your DVR/unlimited screens for additional $$.
YTTV is increasing to $50/mo, but offers 3 simultaneous streams and unlimited DVR (with each user getting their own individual, unlimited DVR). The price is increasing presumably because they are adding Discovery, Animal Planet, Food Network, Travel Channel, HGTV, TLC to the lineup.
The channel lineup is very similar between YTTV (64 channels) and Hulu (58 channels + Hulu).
FYI-- great website from CNET for channel lineups to compare across various streaming services:
I have only used YTTV and Hulu so I can't speak to the other services. However, I prefer YTTV. In my opinion the interface is much better with YTTV. I've never had any streaming/buffering issues with either platform.
Finally, although all streaming services have a varying delay, in my experience, and based off reading on the interwebs, Hulu is by far the worst for this (~30s for most vs >1min for Hulu). This only really matters for live sports, but can be annoying if you get push notifications on your phone about scores, etc.
However, you can reduce the delay by directly using the network's app (e.g. NBC Sports, ESPN) regardless of the streaming service that you use.
Ah thanks for the info on reducing the delay...I text with my friends back home during Michigan games and they're always well ahead of me.
PSVue is not bad for me.
Agreed. I pay $45 right now for PS Vue and it gives me what I need.
I’ll bump up to the next tier when football returns and add BTN.
Dont need BTN in the off season and prefer to save my money and not give it to Google.
April 10th, 2019 at 11:08 PM ^
YouTube TV included BTN, FYI. That's a big reason I went with it.
April 11th, 2019 at 12:31 PM ^
I'm also using PS Vue. Works for me since I've got a PS4/PS3 in separate rooms. DVR could be better, but I don't use it much. Otherwise, I get every single sports/football channel available except the Pac 12 Network (but that's because the Pac 12 can't figure out how modern television works). I also appreciate being able to open up to 6 windows on PC during football season for maximum consumption.
so what's the total monthly price for YouTube TV now?
PS Vue in 50/mo plus 15 for HBO = 65/mo for me.
only PITA is the poor apps from Fox, CBS, etc who have shitty DVR/RW menus. Some individual apps suck is all.
It's going up to $50 per month.
while I still think YouTube TV has by far the best DVR to the point that nobody else can compare even with their premium DVR services, the problem is The initial understanding was YouTube was not going to raise prices for established accounts. That has now gone out the window and they are showing that they're just like every other service provider out there. They're raising my cost 40% so they can add approximately 10 % more TV channels which is the same thing every other video service provider has done in the past. And the really bad thing is they're channels I don't want.
April 10th, 2019 at 10:37 PM ^
Because its the only way for them to be profitable. Anyone who thinks it will be any better for consumers is kidding themselves. All the streaming services are combining on a similar price for a reason
April 11th, 2019 at 11:45 AM ^
It's called collusion, and it's an antitrust violation.
April 11th, 2019 at 11:59 AM ^
Channels charge a rights fee. Having 60 channels means needing to charge $50 to make the math work on those fees. It’s not complicated, it’s not nefarious.
April 11th, 2019 at 10:18 AM ^
My YTTV alerted me last night that on May 13 (I think) my price would be $55. I use it with Apple TV. Does anyone know if you can(and how) get YTTV using Apple TV for the $50 everyone else would pay? I know they are doing it more for Apple because Apple takes a cut but can I just signup directly through YT and pay only $50 while running it on Apple TV.
Yes, I signed up directly through Google and I can use the Apple TV app. There's no reason to pay the extra $5 to Apple as far as I can tell except simplifying your billing.
My commitment to comcast is going to expire soon. What do you guys suggest? I work out of home and need good internet access, and I use the phone service as my business phone.
Should I ditch the cable TV? Anyone have a good recommendation?
Sling has a special going that is 40% of for 3 months. I bet they're trying to get customers that are upset YouTube and Hulu are increasing prices.
I think YouTube is still the best. Probably. I haven't looked at Vue again, but a 40% cost increase with a 5% increase in value is a bitter pill.
We have DirecTv now, and with the add-ons is still cheaper than satellite
April 10th, 2019 at 11:21 PM ^
We have DirecTv now, and with the add-ons is still cheaper than satellite
Everything is cheaper than satellite. I went from DirecTV to DirecTV Now. Having virtually all the same channels made the transition easier. I then switched to YouTube TV. I'm very happy with it, especially since I discovered how to hide all the channels I will never watch. It's nice to scroll through a small menu of channels I'm actually interested in without having to even see the rest.
I have At&T Uverse, with internet service, Showtime, Starz, and the the upgraded sports package, and it's cheaper than if I tried cord cutting because I have to pay for internet. They have us by the balls if you like sports, because that always has a premium cost involved.
Netflix just informed me of a price increase to $12 a month. Hopefully the father in law doesn't discontinue our service!
I’m not happy with the increase but it’s well worth it. I love it. They allow you to have 6 users on an account but only 3 can watch at once. All users can have their own profile to set up their own recordings and what not. It’s 40 per month now. 55 split 3 ways is still cheaper than cable.
Actually each of the 6 users can watch on three different devices at the same time.
I have att/Directv. I pay less than 20 a month and have tons of channels including all the sports channels. I just call and say I want to cancel and they lower every single time. I called last month as my bill was set to go up by $40 cause my promotion was ending. I said that’s fine cancel my service then please. They refused and knocked it down under 20 and gave me free HBO for 3months.
DirecTV Now just increased their price and cut a crap load of channels. Doesn't affect me yet because existing subscribers keep the channels (but price is increased). But I get the AT&T wireless discount and HBO is free through AT&T.
April 10th, 2019 at 10:24 PM ^
Same. I have dish and every time I call to cancel when my price goes up they give me another discount. I pay $60/ month for every channel ever on 4 tv’s with unlimited DVR.
I spent 3 hours (4 calls) with 5 different service reps to get my direct tv from $150 a month to $80 a month. It will have to be done in another year as well. Whatever magical number you call kudos to you. 10 minutes of hold time just to start then you have to make it up the ladder 4 levels to get a decision maker. Oh and if your call accidentally gets dropped I promise you they will never call you back--EVER.
We left ATT uverse because of this service and then the fuckers took over direct tv. Its a mess and I dont believe anyone ever just "called up" and they said please dont shut us off lets drop your bill to $20. In fact their promotion is a killer rate at $60 a month.
I call the regular customer service number. When you get the cyborg who asks why you’re calling, say I WANT TO CANCEL MY SERVICE. You won’t be on hold long and they’ll give you deals to get you to not cancel service. You also probably need to be convincing that you’re going to cancel ( I don’t need to try cause I really plan on cancelling when I call). Good people skills and negotiation skills probably help. Good luck.
^ this.
My conviction to cancel comes from subscribing to Netflix and having Prime for the shipping benefits/Subscribe and Save. If they don't come down then they can send me a box and take their crappy equipment back.
I have Comcast as my primary and DirecTv as my backup. Netflix & Hulu for when I’m driving. ESPN+ for my bathroom.
Psvue started at $30 and is now up to $50 I think. But it’s still cheaper than the $70+ I was paying with dish.
I didn't realize Vue has gone up so much. Has your service improved in any appreciable way for that price increase?
You get the service for more money. The base package is $45. The second package which is the lowest pack I would consider, is $50.
Youtube tv charges an additional fee for AMC. That pushes the price above PSVue when you consider they don't have some of the channels Psvue has.
Service hasn’t not really improved that I have noticed. They tweak it here and there but nothing major. I have an Ethernet cable hardwired right to my fire tv box on my main tv. Seems to have the best stream.
I was going to switch to YouTube tv but you cannot use amazon fire sticks and that is what we have. Also, I like the homepage or whatever it’s called from amazon products. All my apps are right there.
I am going to cancel as soon as they change the price. The new channels dont make me want to pay the extra 15 dollars. not going to happen.
I might have to look at sling. Now that my price is no longer locked in at $35 there's not much incentive for me to stay since I'll be paying the same as everyone else from now on.
Logged in just to let you know the Sling interface is straight garbage...it came free for 30 days when I bought my new TV, I cancelled it and went back to YouTube TV that weekend.
Anyone want to sling tonight? Seriously those commercials are creepy
Pulled a hammy slingin!
Nick Offerman is a funny dude
We haven’t had one of our “Thinking about cutting the cord...can you guys do the research for me?” threads in a while.
I went with Hulu live a month or so and don’t regret it. ATT wasn’t going to budge on my “promotional” deal after several attempts. They even refused to match internet pricing after I cancelled TV. It was a bit annoying at first but not dealing with a cable company is great. I’m probably saving 30 a month or so which isn’t a ton but I’ll take it. I can change my plan or cancel Hulu in 2 seconds online if I want. I went with Hulu mainly because it had all of the sports channels I want and the wife’s hgtv and food channels. It def isn’t “cable quality” for sports. It depends on the channel it seems but sometimes the action is a bit “slow”. I’ve had very few if any buffering issues with google fiber.
Psvue just raised their prices but Its cheaper them Spectrum and the DVR is much better.
I'm different but I don't watch TV or streaming. Saves a lot of time for other stuff. Your mileage may vary.
April 10th, 2019 at 11:12 PM ^
You don't watch Michigan play football or basketball? Come on, I get that not everyone loves TV (I really don't) but this is a sports blog so you can assume many of us are watching sports. Do you not do that? Seems odd you don't have time to watch Michigan games but you have time to post on a blog about it.
Yep. The only reason I read every one of these threads is because I need to make sure I'm getting all Michigan games at a good price!
I am shocked that services designed to undercut cable packages would raise their prices once they got a larger share of the market.
Again, "cord-cutting" isn't a long term strategy to save significant money. There is so little real competition out there in the Telecom/ISP/Media space that these media companies are going to get their money somehow.
I actually tried Youtube TV during March Madness so I could watch at work/on the go. It's...fine. Like all of these non-cable options they have decent service provided you are in a populated area with really good high-speed data transfers. But honestly, I thought my cable service provided much more consistent and higher-quality picture and quality.
You thought that because cable/satellite service IS better than these streaming services. It’s nice having the streaming services on the side, but cable/satellite is still superior.
Yep, but even the little Xfinity app on my phone seemed to have better service and quality when I streamed something I DVR'd.
I am not a fan of cable or satellite generally, but I've tried enough of these alternative services to give a grudging bit of credit to Comcast and Time Warner for being able to do what they do reasonably well.
April 10th, 2019 at 10:39 PM ^
Cable is 100% higher quality. But if you have 3 tvs in your house yttv is still $50 a month, if you want dvr and a cable box for 3 tv's with cable its an extra like $40 per month on top of whatever you pay