YouTube TV hikes monthly fee to $55 to cover Apple App Store fees, Discovery programming

Effective immediately, the cost of YouTube TV is going up to $49.99 per month for new customers, or $54.99 for those subscribing through the App Store, reportedly because of the addition of several Discovery-owned channels.

Existing subscribers will see a billing change take effect after May 13, Variety said. People paying via in-app subscription on Apple platforms will have to spend $54.99 per month, compensating for Apple's 15 to 30 percent revenue cut.

The new networks include Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, ID, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, and MotorTrend. Another, OWN, will join YouTube's lineup by the end of 2019.

Separately Epix is now available as an add-on, costing $3 per month.

YouTube TV has grown to include over 70 default channels. It still has gaps, namely Viacom networks like Comedy Central, and some other premium options — most notably HBO.

The hike likely reflects the increasing cost of acquiring content and scaling services to meet demand. In February, Hulu raised the cost of its Live TV package to $44.99 per month. DirecTV Now followed suit in March, pushing subscriptions to at least $50.

YouTube TV started in 2016 as one of the least expensive live TV services, costing only $35. That fee grew to $40 in 2018.

43 Comments

cpsro 14 Years · 3239 comments

About 5 years ago

So much for the "promise" of a la carte channel subscriptions.

ElCapitan 6 Years · 372 comments

That's what happens when you start to compete with your content providers.

Apple's board should stop AppleTV+ cold turkey, and direct the management to only provide an attractive platform for all content providers to offer the broadest possible selection to Apple customers.

fruitstandninja 11 Years · 104 comments

It is getting harder and harder to justify paying for this service. At $40 it was a stretch. Between accounts we have and ones we share how much more content do we really need?

AF_Hitt 7 Years · 144 comments

Hulu with Live TV with the no commercial option (on regular Hulu content) is the clear option in this space now, in my opinion. It has all the same channels and 50 hours of DVR (more than enough considering all the shows that you can watch on demand through regular Hulu) for $51. Since we have Hulu regardless, the equivalent live tv service equates to $39, compared to PSVue, YouTube TV, Directv Now, etc. all at the $50 price (minimum) and a much less robust on-demand section as Hulu’s.

curtis hannah 12 Years · 1834 comments

AF_Hitt said:

Hulu with Live TV with the no commercial option (on regular Hulu content) is the clear option in this space now, in my opinion. It has all the same channels and 50 hours of DVR (more than enough considering all the shows that you can watch on demand through regular Hulu) for $51. Since we have Hulu regardless, the equivalent live tv service equates to $39, compared to PSVue, YouTube TV, Directv Now, etc. all at the $50 price (minimum) and a much less robust on-demand section as Hulu’s.

Agreed that if I go for a service it would likely be the Hulu since there on demand library is so vast at the same cost (Youtube just promises ad free youtube videos on top right?).

In general these live streaming TV services are losing their compel, at $35 a month for less channels made sense, now we're seeing $50 a month and climbing it's competing value is lost, as most full TV packages are around $100 while you can find the downgraded with similar channels and similar price before the price drop when bundling internet.