YouTube TV today announced a price hike for all users, first hitting new subscribers immediately and then arriving for existing subscribers beginning with billing cycles after May 13. The price hike will be a $10 increase on the monthly cost of the live TV streaming service, boosting the price of the platform to $49.99/month.


The cost of YouTube TV will be even more if you subscribe to the service through one of Apple's devices, as those members will be billed at $54.99/month due to the 30 percent cut that Apple takes during the first year of an annual subscription. Apple's policy has resulted in divergent prices for numerous apps and services on the App Store, leading to legal battles with companies like Spotify.

For YouTube TV, the company says that the price increase is so that it can keep bringing its customers "the best possible service," today including the addition of Discovery network branded channels. Eight total channels are being added to YouTube TV as of this week: Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, and MotorTrend. EPIX is also available for an additional charge.

That means YouTube TV has now grown to over 70 channels. The base price of the service also includes 6 accounts per household, a cloud DVR with no storage space limits, 3 concurrent streams, and local affiliate coverage in over 90 percent of the markets where YouTube TV is available (which is now all U.S. markets).

With today's news of a price hike, YouTube TV is now the third major over-the-top streaming service to announce a price hike in the past month. DirecTV Now started the trend in early March with a $10/month price hike, then FuboTV followed later in the month with a $10/month price hike, and now YouTube TV customers are facing their own $10/month subscription increase.

With the changes, Hulu With Live TV and PlayStation Vue are now the cheapest options among the major platforms, and YouTube TV sits in the middle in terms of cost for entry-level subscriptions.

• SlingTV - $25/month for "Orange and Blue" with limited-time discount


• Hulu With Live TV - $44.99/month


• PS Vue - $44.99/month for "Access" tier


• YouTube TV - $49.99/month


• DirecTV Now - $50/month for "Plus" and "Live a Little"


• FuboTV - $54.99/month for "Standard"

This is the third price hike in YouTube TV's history. The service originally cost $35/month and then increased its price to $40/month in the spring of 2018.


This article, "YouTube TV Increases Price to $49.99/Month, $54.99/Month When Billed Through Apple" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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