The cost of YouTube TV is going up again — making a monthly subscription 114% more expensive than when the service launched six years ago.
Beginning immediately for new subscribers, the basic package, which has more than 100 TV channels, will cost $72.99 a month. That’s an increase of $8 from $64.99 per month, which has been its price for more than three years. Existing subscribers will receive the new price beginning on April 18.
YouTube TV explained on Twitter that the price hike is because “content costs have risen” and it’s investing in its “quality of service.” The Alphabet-owned service recently bought the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket from DirecTV, which reportedly cost $2 billion per year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“We are committed to offering a premium way for you to stream TV, but understand this new price may not work for you,” the platform said in a tweet. “We do hope YouTube TV continues to be your service of choice, but we want to give you the flexibility to cancel at any time.”
Cable networks are asking for more money as they try to battle cord cutting, which has sparked price increases among all major streaming TV packages. Dish-owned Sling TV, FuboTV, Hulu plus Live TV and DirecTV Stream all hiked their monthly prices in recent months.
YouTube TV launched in 2017 at $35 per month and it has increased its price four times since then. The cost is starting to rival traditional cable TV packages, but streaming services have fewer fees, don’t require clunky hardware and are easier to cancel.
