Separate cable television, they said. It will be cheaper, they said.
Google this week “updated” (his wording, not mine) YouTube TV’s price from $ 50 a month to $ 65 a month. The price increase for Internet TV service comes just over a year after the last increase of $ 40 per month. In 15 months, the price of YouTube TV has increased 62.5%. When it launched three years ago, it was $ 35 a month. Simply put, YouTube TV is dead.
YouTube TV clients are cable cutters. That means they canceled their cable TV subscription to avoid paying rising prices for channels they don’t watch. What is Google’s business strategy here? “We force new channels on our hypersensitive customers to cable TV prices and charge more. They will love it. Oh, and let’s make sure we do it during a pandemic-induced recession. “
Every YouTube TV price increase to date has commented on additional channels. As before, this time there is no option to skip the new channels and not pay the additional 30%. YouTube TV is simply another cable television service posing as a cable transmission service.
To continue providing you with the best possible service, we are updating our membership price to $ 64.99. This new price will be effective immediately for new members, while existing members will see the new price from 7/30.
– YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) June 30, 2020
I can’t think of a better example of how to completely ignore what your customers want and destroy your service. I hope there will be YouTube TV case studies galore in a few years if Google doesn’t change course. The company will have to do a serious soul-searching to resurrect YouTube TV after this one.
Let’s say you want to pay $ 65 a month. Instead of YouTube TV, you can subscribe to:
- Netflix for $ 9 to $ 16 a month.
- Disney + for $ 7 per month.
- Hulu for $ 6 to $ 12 a month.
- Amazon Prime Video for $ 9 per month.
- HBO Max for $ 15 per month.
- Apple TV + for $ 5 per month.
If you wanted all six streaming services, your total cost would be $ 51 per month on the low end and $ 64 per month on the high end. I don’t think anyone needs or wants these streaming services. Either way, it would still cost less than YouTube TV.
In fairness, the main difference on YouTube TV from these services is live sports. But that is still no excuse to almost double the price in three years and point to new channels that users do not want as an excuse. All YouTube TV had to do was keep charging $ 35 a month for sports and any other channels it could achieve at that price. An increase to $ 40 would have been acceptable (although again, not during a pandemic). A raise to $ 40, then $ 50, and then $ 65 is not.
I will be left alone with Netflix. Sure, the price goes up a dollar or two every few years, but at this rate, I’ll be dead before Netflix costs $ 65 a month.
ProBeat is a column in which Emil rants about what he comes across that week.
