YouTube TV has now increased the price of a subscription to $64.99 per month, although the company wants you to know that Hulu Live TV costs the same. That is, as long as you add the cloud DVR add-on to the Hulu Live plan and also ignore the basic Hulu subscription savings.
YouTube TV has always positioned itself as a value-oriented service and while it has steadily increased in price over the years, those increases have typically come alongside improved features and new channels. In fact, that’s exactly what happened this time around with YouTube TV having now added some of the ViacomCBS channels it had previously confirmed as en route.
Along with the new price increase, the YouTube TV website has also now been updated to reflect the higher price. As part of that website update, YouTube TV has added a new section which specifically compares the new subscription price to Hulu Live TV. While the comparison does specify the current “advertised price,” YouTube TV has also factored in the ‘Enhanced Cloud DVR’ add-on to highlight its own unlimited approach to cloud DVR. The end result being Hulu Live TV is pretty much the same cost as YouTube TV.
YouTube conveniently forgets about basic Hulu
When drawing up its comparison, YouTube TV focused on the unlimited cloud DVR, NBA and MLB networks, and the fact that you get three simultaneous streams, but conveniently forgot to mention that a Hulu Live TV subscription also includes access to the basic Hulu subscription. This service offers access to a variety of on-demand movies and shows for $5.99 per month.
While the basic Hulu subscription is available as a standalone subscription, it is also bundled in for free with the Hulu Live TV plan, resulting in a $5.99 per month saving for those who already subscribe to Hulu basic. YouTube TV subscribers who also subscribe to Hulu basic will now be paying $70.98 per month for the two subscriptions.
Of course, it is no surprise that YouTube TV has picked Hulu Live TV to specifically target in this way, considering that besides the similarity in price, Hulu Live TV is also in the ascendance right now. For example, while also being a relatively newer entrant to the the market, all indications currently do point to Hulu Live as the live TV streaming service with the most subscribers in the United States.
In other words, YouTube TV is acutely aware of how Hulu Live TV is its main competition and likely the destination many YouTube TV subscribers will end up, following its latest price increase.
Source: YouTube TV
