This week in streaming news: YouTube TV will soon raise prices; watch ‘Dexter: Original Sin’ and “One Hundred Years of Solitude’ this weekend
This week in streaming news: YouTube TV will soon raise prices; watch ‘Dexter: Original Sin’ and “One Hundred Years of Solitude’ this weekend
The live TV streamer’s new prices will now match its competitors like Hulu + Live TV and DIRECTV STREAM.
This week in streaming news, YouTube TV is starting the new year with price increases on its plans for both new and existing customers (with some current exceptions). Find out when the subscription hikes will go into effect and if your increase may be delayed.
Plus, Dexter Morgan tells his in-depth origin story and one of the world’s most acclaimed novels gets its first major adaptation— get our weekend watch recommendations below!
This Week’s Biggest Streaming News:
YouTube TV To Raise Its Prices Next Month
While YouTube TV customers have long held bragging rights for its lower cost plans, newly announced upcoming price increases will put it on par with the rest of its competitors.
This week, the live streaming service told its customers via email it will be raising its subscription prices by $10 beginning on Jan. 13. Current customers of its base channel package will now have to pay $83 as opposed to $73 and will see the change reflected in their next bill after that date. The price increase will go into effect immediately for new subscribers.
However, customers who signed up for the service with a discount, including its $20-per-month off for four months football season special, will continue to pay the promotional prices until the deal period ends.
YouTube TV is the latest service to raise its prices or announce increases this year, including its live streamer competitors like DIRECTV STREAM, which raised prices for its various packages by as much as $10 this past October. The cost of YouTube TV’s base package now matches Hulu + Live TV’s monthly cost following that service’s own price increase this past October.
Even though the price increase is bound to be frustrating for customers, YouTube TV has promised its commitment to implementing new features and improving its existing ones, including “unlimited DVR storage and multiview, and supporting YouTube TV’s breadth of content and vast on-demand library of movies and shows.”
But if the price hike isn’t in your budget right now (especially after the holidays) or you’re looking for something that’s a better bang for your buck, you can check out our recommendations for cost-effective alternatives!
Catch up on our articles related to the YouTube TV price hike:
- YouTube TV hiking subscription prices in January; how much more will it cost?
- Ditching YouTube TV after price hike? Check out your alternative recommendations!
- Streamflation Continues: Which Streamer is Likely to Raise Prices Next?
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. The Streamable does not recommend YouTube TV. Consider DIRECTV STREAM for a better channel lineup or Hulu Live TV for its free Disney Bundle.
What to catch up on this weekend: Part 1 of Netflix’s ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ adaptation
I can think of few novels more daunting to adapt than Gabriel García Márquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” but Netflix has gambled wisely on its trip to Macondo.
The streamer has produced a 16-episode adaptation of Márquez Nobel Prize-winning masterpiece, which premiered its first half this Wednesday, Dec. 11. The Spanish-language magical realism series follows even generations of the Buendía family in the mythical town, chronicling “adversities of impossible loves, confrontations with a past that follows their footsteps, and a curse that condemns them.” Diego Vásquez leads the cast opposite Marleyda Soto, Claudio Cataño, Loren Sofía, Janer Villarreal, Viña Machado and many others.
Despite multiple attempts at a direct adaptation, Márquez had always refused to sell the screen rights because a movie wouldn’t be long enough to cover the expansive story, nor did he want it in any other language than Spanish. Working with Márquez’s son and filming it exclusively in Márquez’s Columbia, though, Netflix took the deal and it paid off: the first half of the series has a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The series premiere was already one of our top picks to stream this month, and now, you can watch the first eight episodes exclusively on Netflix. Part 2 will stream in 2025.
Watch the trailer for ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ Part 1 below:
One Hundred Years of Solitude
In the timeless town of Macondo, seven generations of the Buendía family navigate love, oblivion and the inescapability of their past — and their fate.
What to stream this weekend: ‘Dexter: Original Sin’ premiere
Hello again, Dexter Morgan. SHOWTIME’s most beloved serial killer is back again, but this time, we go back to where it all began.
This weekend, the network debuts “Dexter: Original Sin,” a prequel series set in 1991 Miami, as young Dexter (played by Patrick Gibson), as he transitions from student to killer. With the help of his adopted father, Harry Morgan (played by Christian Slater, taking over the role from James Remar), he adopts a Code designed to help him select his victims and keep him out of law enforcement’s hands— at least more than work dictates, as a forensics intern at the Miami Metro Police Department.
Joining Gibson and Slater are Patrick Dempsey, Molly Brown, James Martinez, Christina Milian, Alex Shimizu, Reno Wilson, and special guest star Sarah Michelle Gellar. Hall also returns to voice the iconic inner monologue in Dexter’s head.
Watch the trailer for ‘Dexter: Original Sin’ below:
The parent series “Dexter” ran between 2006 and 2013 with Hall playing the blood spatter analyst by day and vigilante serial killer by night. After an infamously less-than-great final season and series finale, the network brought Hall back for the sequel limited series “Dexter: New Blood” in 2021. The new series still had trouble sticking the landing, but where fans previously were convinced—spoiler—Dexter had been killed at last, the “Original Sin” trailer may suggest otherwise.
The first episode of “Dexter: Original Sin” is available to watch now with a Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscription, or on Showtime’s linear channel on Sunday. New episodes will be released weekly through Feb. 14.
If you need a refresher before you get started with the prequel series and a full Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan, Paramount+ also just made all of “Dexter” available on its Paramount+ Essential plan, which will cost you just $8 per month to watch all eight seasons!
Dexter: Original Sin
In 1991 Miami, Dexter Morgan transitions from student to avenging serial killer. When his bloodthirsty urges can’t be ignored any longer, Dexter must learn to channel his inner darkness. With the guidance of his father, Harry, he adopts a Code designed to help him find and kill people who deserve to be eliminated from society without getting on law enforcements’ radar. This is a particular challenge for young Dexter as he begins a forensics internship at the Miami Metro Police Department.