But it worked because of the $35 price. Even if it was missing a few channels, the convenience and implementation made it worth it. Then, in 2018, the price went up to $40. Okay, five bucks isn’t too bad. Then again, in 2019, the price went up to $50 for just eight more channels. Today, in the middle of a global pandemic leaving people stuck at home and the highest levels of unemployment since the Great Depression, YouTube TV decided to announce its biggest price hike yet. Starting today, a subscription for new members will cost $64.99. For existing subscribers, the price hike starts on or after July 30. For your extra 15 bucks, you’ll get access to BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land, and VH1. At a future date, you’ll have access to BET Her, MTV2, MTV Classic, Nick Jr., NickToons, and TeenNick. That’s nice for people who care about these channels, but it sucks for everyone else, myself included. To be fair, YouTube acknowledges the price hike could lead to lost customers: The company says it plans on building new ‘flexible models’ for YouTube TV subscribers, but if you ask me, those should have been in place long ago. Competitor Sling has long offered various price tiers for its base plans, for instance. In any case, it made no mention of when these plans will materialize, leaving thousands of users paying for channels they might not care about. 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. We want to make YouTube TV flexible for you, so members can pause or cancel anytime here. Everyone’s price threshold is different, and I’m sure plenty of users will be happy to keep paying for YouTube TV. But that extra $15 a month — which feels like a small slap in the face considering the current anxious economy — crossed the line for me, and I suspect many users as well. And given the yearly price increases, YouTube has given me no indication the prices won’t just keep going up. For that price, I might as well start considering cable again. At least they give me more choice on what I actually want to pay for.
