With Fattening Bundles, Live TV Streaming Services Continue to See Price Hikes Across Industry
Today YouTube TV announced that they had increased the price of their service from $40 to $50 (or $55 through the App Store). This new price takes effect today, April 10, for new members. Existing subscribers — including those currently on the $35 a month launch plan — will see these changes reflected in their subsequent billing cycle after May 13.
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 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 Philo ($16), PlayStation Vue ($45), and Sling TV ($25) have yet to raise prices in 2019.
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.
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 three months), or both packages for just $25.