Why does it still cost extra to stream in 4K on YouTube TV?
Why does it still cost extra to stream in 4K on YouTube TV?
The streamer has a ton of user-friendly features, but the practice of charging for 4K programming when other services offer it for free has got to go.
It’s hard to nitpick with YouTube TV. The streamer has more than 10 million subscribers for a reason: it has a channel plan stuffed with popular networks, doesn’t charge outlandish fees for things like local broadcast channel access, and continuously updates its platform with new features like its multiview, which will soon be fully customizable with sports and non-sports options.
It was initially difficult to think of something that YouTube TV was missing for this exercise, until I remembered that the streaming service still charges an extra fee if customers want to stream live programming in 4K. That needs to change as soon as possible, and in my view, YouTube TV should make 4K content available to all customers at no extra charge.
Currently, YouTube TV forces viewers who want to receive 4K shows and movies to pay an extra $10 per month for the 4K Plus add-on. In addition to unlocking any programming offered in Ultra-High-Definition 4K, this add-on lets customers watch their YouTube TV subscription on unlimited devices at home, and download some DVR titles for offline viewing.
Those are useful features, to be sure, but it feels a little nickel-and-dimey of YouTube TV to charge for them. That feeling grows when considering the 4K aspect of the add-on, for the simple reason that so few channels offer 4K programming regularly. Fox provides NFL games on Sunday afternoons in 4K, and ESPN and NBC have also broadcast a limited number of sporting events in UHD, but that’s about all.
That small amount of programming doesn’t really seem worth an extra $10 per month surcharge, which is something that YouTube TV’s competition already seems to have realized. Both DIRECTV and Sling TV offer the same 4K programming that YouTube TV does, but they don’t charge subscribers any extra fees to watch in that resolution.
It’s not as if YouTube TV is hurting for the money, either. While parent company Google has never offered a detailed look at YouTube TV’s financials, the company itself has a market capitalization of almost $4 trillion. The idea that Google has to charge extra for 4K programming to make YouTube TV worth sustaining is laughable, and it could easily generate a little positive P.R. by offering it for free instead.
YouTube TV once charged $20 per month extra to watch any 4K content, but that price dipped to the current $10 rate in 2023. That action itself was an admission that YouTube TV knows charging an exorbitant rate for 4K programming isn’t a good idea, but it’s time for the service to take the next step and make it free to stream in 4K for all customers.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV is a live TV streaming service with more than 60 channels for $82.99/month. This plan includes local channels 32 of the top 35 cable channels, and regional sports networks (RSNs) in select markets. The base plan includes more than 100 live channels, including major broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, as well as popular cable channels such as ESPN, CNN, FX, USA Network, and TNT. Local channels are included in most markets, making YouTube TV a full replacement for traditional cable for many viewers.