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In brief: YouTube is once again increasing the cost of its streaming television service in a move that’s sure to generate some cancellations. The streaming provider said it is adjusting its monthly rate from $64.99 to $72.99 in the wake of rising content costs and continued investments in the quality of its service. The new pricing goes into effect immediately for new members, and will start on April 18 for existing subscribers.
YouTube further noted it is lowering the price of its 4K Plus add-on, from $19.99 per month to $9.99 a month. If you were already paying for the 4K add-on, you will be saving $2 per month overall.
For everyone else, the $8 price hike is not insignificant as it works out to an extra $96 per year. It is not a ton of money, sure, but you can do a lot with $8 per month like invest in another streaming service.
A Netflix basic with ads membership is $6.99 per month, Hulu’s ad-supported basic plan is $7.99 monthly, Disney+ is $7.99, an Amazon Prime Video membership is $8.99 each month, and an individual Spotify Premium membership is $9.99 (if you are a student, you can get it for $4.99).
The price hike is YouTube’s first in three years. The service debuted in five major markets back in 2017 at just $34.99 per month. YouTube added more channels in 2018 and bumped the price up to $39.99 and eventually became available nationwide. In early 2019, the price increased to $49.99 and in 2020, it shot up to $64.99 where it has sat until today.
What does your television strategy look like these days? I personally cut the cord with my local cable provider close to a decade ago and have relied mostly on streaming and OTA broadcasts ever since. Come college football season, however, I do resort back to paid live TV but only from late August through early January.
Image credit: Logos by Javier Miranda, TVs by Levi Stute
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