YouTube TV has started emailing existing subscribers to let them know that they can save as much as $45 on their next bill by referring a friend. YouTube TV first started its referral program earlier in the year. However, the discount now being offered for referrals is more than double what it was when the program first launched.
With more than 5 million subscribers at the last count, YouTube TV is already considered to be the most popular live TV streaming service in the US, based on the number of subscribers. While that in itself seems to highlight that YouTube TV doesn’t particularly have any issues with attracting new users, YouTube TV does routinely offer discounts, deals, and additional ways to save when signing up for the first time.
Through its refer a friend program, YouTube TV not only offers rewards to those signing up with a discount, but also those that have made the referral in the first place. To access the program, existing subscribers can log in to the YouTube website with their account details, click on the profile icon in the top right corner, and then on the ‘Refer a friend, get $45’ link. Alternatively, the same link can be accessed through the mobile app by clicking on the profile icon and then on the same ‘Refer a friend, get $45’ link.
Regardless of whether it’s through the website or the app, the existing subscriber will be provided with a unique link that they can then share with others. Each time the link is used by someone else to sign up, YouTube TV rewards both sides. For example, using our link reduces the cost for the first month by $15 for a new user and rewards us with $45 off the cost of our next bill. YouTube TV currently costs $65 per month, so this takes the price for the new subscriber down to $49.99 for the first month and the cost of the existing subscriber down to just $19.99 for the next month.
What’s also interesting is that the referral friend discount also seems to combine with the $10 off per month deal that YouTube TV is currently running. While the unique links are not supposed to be compatible with other promotions, YouTube TV is advertising that new subscribers not only save $15 through the referral, but also get $10 off each of their 3 months, and this is all on top of the current free trial. This $10 per month discount for the first three months is currently due to end at at 11:59 pm PT on December 31, 2022.
As to be expected, there are some caveats with a promotion like this. First of all, the referral will only be counted by YouTube TV if the new subscriber has never been a YouTube TV subscriber in the past, and that includes those who previously signed up for a free trial. Likewise, referrals are only rewarded with a discount once the new subscriber actually pays for the first month. For example, if they just use the free trial and then cancel (and/or pause their subscription) before paying for the first month, the existing subscriber won’t receive the referral discount.
Another caveat is that although the unique referral link can be shared with as many people as a subscriber wants, YouTube TV will only reward 10 referrals in a calendar year. In other words, the total a single subscriber can save over 12 months is $450, regardless of how many referrals they make. Once they actually hit the 10 referral limit, the referral code will stop working.
There are some other limitations as well. For example, existing subscribers cannot be on a free trial, must be signed up to the base plan (and not just individual premium networks through YouTube TV), and cannot be billed by a third-party, such as a mobile carrier or internet provider.
Lastly, it is also worth noting that, technically, the YouTube TV Referral Program campaign period is currently due to end on December 31st, 2022, so this upping of the amount to $45 per referral may be part of a last-minute attempt to increase referrals before the year comes to an end. Then again, it may also be an indication that YouTube TV might be about to start a new campaign period with a higher referral rate once 2023 rolls around.
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