To Make Price Hikes Worthwhile, YouTube TV Should Include YouTube Premium for Free
YouTube TV is an all-around solid live TV streaming service. Subscribers get access to 32 of the top 35 cable channels with the service, and it’s one of the only live TV platforms that offers users the ability to stream in 4K—though it’ll cost you an extra $9.99 per month for the 4K Plus add-on.
Despite a fairly impressive channel list, it’s hard to argue that YouTube TV is one of the more expensive live TV streamers in the industry. In March, the service raised the monthly subscription cost of its base plan from $64.99 to $72.99, a price jump of 11%. That means its base plan is now more expensive than Hulu + Live TV, Sling, and Philo, as well as DIRECTV STREAM thanks to that company’s current, limited-time $10 per month off for three months offer.
Perhaps because of the price increase, YouTube TV has done some work lately to help users think of it as a good value. For example, the service has been beta testing its new multiview feature quite a bit this year, allowing customers to access it for sporting events like the 2023 NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments, and the NFL Draft. That’s great for sports fans, but what is YouTube TV doing to increase its value for non-sports lovers?
There’s one thing that the service could do that would instantly add value to a YouTube TV subscription: include YouTube Premium. The add-on subscription allows users to watch millions of YouTube videos ad-free, and to download them in order to watch them offline. It also allows subscribers using mobile devices to watch YouTube videos on other apps, or even have them continue playing when the screen is turned off. YouTube Premium also comes with YouTube Music Premium at no extra charge, so clearly YouTube has experience in offering its services as bundles.
YouTube Premium usually costs $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year. But including it in every YouTube TV subscription would give the service excellent value, putting it much closer to platforms like Hulu + Live TV in terms of offering users free extras. Hulu + Live TV gives users free access to the Disney Bundle for as long as they have their subscription, meaning that they also can enjoy all of the programming on Disney+ and ESPN+ essentially for free.
Value is a major goal that every streamer is trying to chase. A survey from November 2022 found that value was more important than price for streaming users, which is especially important for a live TV service like YouTube TV. Because it charges a much higher monthly price than subscription video streamers like Prime Video and Max, YouTube TV has to work that much harder to convince users that it’s a good value.
Of course, there is a possibility that YouTube TV doesn’t feel the need to add more value to itself. After all, it currently has 6.3 million subscribers, which is by far the largest customer base of any live TV streamer. But adding YouTube Premium to its subscription would be an attractive incentive to boost that number even higher.
The service has already proven its worth to football fans, who will be able to enjoy NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV for the first time in 2023. But for users who don’t care about sports, the service must do something more to demonstrate its value. Adding free subscriptions to YouTube Premium with every YouTube TV account would bring excellent value to the service, providing something that all segments of its customer base would want.
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.