PlayStation Vue has raised the price of all plans — Access, Core, Elite, & Ultra — by $5 a month. This comes almost exactly one year after the company last raised the price of their plans by the same amount. The price increase will go in effect immediately for new customers and on the next billing cycle (after July 31) for existing ones.
The price increase comes as PlayStation Vue has been in the midst of negotiating new deals with AMC, Turner (TNT, TBS, CNN), Discovery, and NBCUniversal (Bravo, E!, USA, CNBC) — which were set to expire at the end of June. We’ve learned that the majority of those deals have been renewed and their is optimism that there will be no substantive changes to the channel lineup.
In a statement to The Streamable, PlayStation Vue shared:
At PlayStation Vue, we always strive to provide the best live TV viewing experience at the most compelling value to our customers. This includes both the content that is popular with our overall customer base, as well as the key features that make PS Vue the best place to watch.
With costs rising each year for content, we constantly evaluate each deal to ensure we continue to deliver the content you want while considering the overall value of each package. After reviewing this, we have made the decision to raise the price of all of our multi-channel plans by $5. This change starts today for new customers. Our existing customers will keep their current price for at least 30 days and will see the new price beginning on their first billing cycle on or after July 31.
New Pricing
- Access: $50/month
- Core: $55/month (adds RSN and many sports channels)
- Elite: $65/month
- Ultra: $85/month (includes premiums like HBO & Showtime)
Just last week PlayStation Vue had moved The Tennis Channel and added beIn Sports to their Core Plan. They also added BabyFirst to all of their services plans.
This is just the latest in industry-wide price increases by Live TV Streaming Services, as they try to cover the costs of fattening bundles. With services adding channels from Turner, Viacom, and Discovery — most services including PlayStation Vue ($50), Fubo ($55), Hulu Live TV ($45), and YouTube TV ($50) raised prices as much as 25% in the last year. DIRECTV NOW has gone the other direction, raising prices and thinning the bundle — removing channels from A&E, AMC, and Discovery. Only Sling TV ($25) have yet to raise prices in 2019, while Philo discontinued their cheaper $16 a month plan.
History of Live TV Streaming Service Price Hikes
Last March, YouTube TV increased their pricing from $35 to $40 a month, but grandfathered existing users at their current price. A few months later, Sling TV raised the price of their Sling Orange plan from $20 to $25, while PlayStation Vue increased all plans by $5 a month — starting at $45.
In February, after adding networks from Discovery, Hulu Live TV increased the price of their service from $40 to $45. Soon after, DIRECTV NOW discontinued their existing plans — launching 2 new plans starting at $50 a month (up from $40), without channels from A&E, AMC, and Discovery. Last month, Fubo, after adding Viacom channels, raised the price of their service from $45 to $55 a month.
In May, Philo discontinued their $16 a month plan, leaving just their $20 plan for new customers.
After the latest price hikes, Sling TV remains the only true skinny bundle at $25 a month. The service is currently offering both their Sling Orange and Sling Blue plans for just $15 a month (for your first month), or both packages for just $25. They recently announced their Total TV Deal which adds all their Extra Packs, plus their DVR for just $20 a month.