Review Board Tells YouTube TV Stop Advertising Itself as $600 Cheaper Than Cable, Because It’s Not True
Google may have to start pulling some ads for YouTube TV from the rotation. The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Better Business Bureau National Programs has advised Google that two ads that claim YouTube TV is $600 cheaper than cable are inaccurate.
The review was prompted by a complaint from Charter Communications. The findings of its investigation prompted the NAD to tell Google that its calculations for the expense of traditional cable were not accurate, as they included the cost of two set-top boxes per household. As the NAD points out, the proliferation of virtual multi-channel video-programming distributors (vMVPDs, also called live TV streaming services) makes this calculation outdated, since many cable plans are now available to be streamed via the internet instead.
Charter does have a point in that services like DIRECTV STREAM, Charter’s own Spectrum TV, and Xfinity’s pay-TV packages can all be accessed without a set-top cable device these days. Still, Google has vowed to appeal the decision, arguing that customers “broadly understand the difference between traditional cable and streaming and that they do not interpret ‘cable’ or ‘standalone cable’ offered via a ‘cable box’ as encompassing streaming services, regardless of who provides them.”
Despite Google’s pushback, the company itself has made some changes to its advertising in the past year. In 2022, it released ads that claimed YouTube TV could save subscribers up to $750 as compared to a cable subscription, so it has obviously acknowledged between then and now that its formula for computing cable costs is not completely infallible.
Part of the reason YouTube TV had to change last year’s ads to the $600 version being shown in 2023 is that it raised its monthly subscription cost in the spring. YouTube TV jumped from $64.99 per month to $72.99 in March, resulting in a $96 per year increase for customers. Despite the price hike, YouTube TV is the only vMVPD that added users in the second quarter of 2023.
A recent survey found that the cost of the top five streamers on the market bundled together now rivals the price of a cable subscription, so other streamers might want to be wary about how they compare themselves to traditional pay TV as well. Google will take advantage of the appeals process to try and abrogate the NAD’s recommendation, but it may soon have to stop telling potential users that its service is hundreds of dollars less expensive than cable every year.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV is a live TV streaming service with more than 60 channels for $72.99/month. This plan includes local channels, 32 of the top 35 cable channels, and regional sports networks (RSNs) in select markets. The service includes an unlimited DVR.