Every Live TV Streaming Service Price Increase In 2022

2022 saw many things increase in price, and the cost of streaming live TV over the internet was no exception. In general, the cost of live TV has been steadily increasing for a few years now, so it won’t come as much of a surprise that 2022 followed the same pattern. Arguably, 2022 wasn’t quite as bad as some other years although this does depend on the service.

Overall, most of the major live TV streaming services did increase in price in 2022. The notably exceptions here were Philo and YouTube TV. The latter of which hasn’t actually seen a price increase since 2020. Whether or not that means a price increase for YouTube TV is set to arrive in 2023 remains to be seen, but it is certainly a possibility, and potentially all the more likely following the recent NFL Sunday Ticket deal.

As we move into 2023, some of the main takeaways of 2022 is that the cost of a Sling TV subscription rose to $40 per month, while the cheapest DirecTV Stream package is set to increase to $74.99 per month before the end of January.

Here’s a look back at all of the main live TV price increases announced and implemented over the past 12 months.

January 2022: DirecTV Stream price increase

2022 started with a price increase from DirecTV Stream. While DirecTV technically announced the price increase in December 2021, it didn’t take effect until January 23, 2022. In spite of the price increase, the cost of the cheapest DirecTV Stream plan remained at $69.99 per month.

DirecTV Stream offers four main plans to choose from and the 2022 price increase only affected the three most expensive live TV packages. This resulted in Choice rising to $89.99 per month, Ultimate increasing to $104.99 per month, and Premier hitting $149.99 per month. Overall, this was the equivalent to either a $5 or $10 per month price rise, depending on the plan.

March 2022: fuboTV and Vidgo price increases

The price of signing up to fuboTV increased in March 2022 although this wasn’t technically a price increase. Instead, fuboTV removed the Starter plan from its lineup. At $65 per month, Starter was the cheapest way to sign up to fuboTV, and once the plan had gone, the $70 per month Pro plan became the cheapest fuboTV package.

It wasn’t just new fuboTV subscribers that felt this price increase either. Shortly after the price increase was announced, fuboTV confirmed that existing Starter subscribers would see the cost of their plan increase to $70 per month, putting it in line with the cost of the Pro plan.

For reference, fuboTV also launched a new Ultimate live TV package in 2022. However, as this package was launched after the 2022 price increase, it wasn’t affected by the price change.

Vidgo also made a change to its packages in March 2022. The Plus plan is Vidgo’s cheapest package and previously cost $55 per month. However, in March the cost increased by $4.95 to $60 per month. The more expensive Premium Vidgo plan wasn’t affected by this price increase.

Similar to fuboTV, Video also added an Ultimate package to its live TV plan lineup in 2022. However, Ultimate was added much later in the year and so it wasn’t affected by the 2022 price change.

November 2022: Sling TV price increase

Fast-forward to November and Sling TV was next to announce and introduce a price increase. In line with pretty much every Sling TV increase in the past, $5 was added to the monthly cost of both the Sling Orange and Sling Blue base plans. With the cost of the two main plans increasing, the price of the combined package increased as well. Following the November change, the cost of the Sling Orange & Blue plan rose to $55 per month, an increase of $5.

December 2022: Hulu and DirecTV price changes

In December, Hulu Live TV sort of implemented a price increase although it wasn’t one that affected all subscribers. Basically, Disney introduced a new Disney Plus Basics ad-supported plan on Dec. 8 and this coincided with a price increase for the ad-free plan. As Hulu Live TV previously came bundled with ad-free Disney Plus, any existing subscribers that opted to remain with this plan after December 8th saw a $5 increase to their monthly price.

It is worth noting that, unlike with some of the other price increases, the cost of Hulu Live TV remains priced at $69.99 per month for new subscribers. However, the standard package now comes with the ad-supported Basic plan instead of ad-free Disney Plus.

2022 price increases summary

2022 was another year of price increases, but some subscribers definitely faired better than others. For example, while Philo and YouTube TV subscribers saw no increase, some DirecTV Stream, fuboTV, Sling TV and Vidgo subscribers saw their plans go up by a minimum of $5 per month. Hulu Live TV subscribers sticking with ad-free Disney Plus also saw the cost of their package increase as well.

The year also finished pretty much the same 2022 started thanks to DirecTV Stream prepping its subscribers for another price increase. Just like how the previous increase unfolded, this one was announced in December 2022 with a view to taking effect in January 2023. Once this price increase is applied in January, the cost of the cheapest (Entertainment) live TV plan will have risen to $74.99 per month, making it one the most expensive entry level package.

As was the case at the end of 2021, it currently remains to be seen what other changes will happen next year. While it stands to reason that YouTube TV might encounter a price increase soon enough, services like DirecTV Stream and Hulu Live TV seem to be developing a pattern which suggests that further increases could be coming towards the end of 2023 / start of 2024.