In my opinion, YouTube TV took a nosedive when it started losing a bunch of networks to content provider negotiations going south. On top of that, the base pricing of $64.99 USD was untenable for me and many others. Sure, it may be a great deal for those seeking cable replacements, but in the world of subscription streaming services, something specifically modeled after the way of the past (at least to me as a millennial) seemed less attractive.
In an interesting turn of events, YouTube TV announced today that it is beginning to offer its “most flexible option yet” in regards to pricing and content. Upon visiting its new landing page, you’ll see that the following channels are able to be mixed and matched a la carte with individual pricing. For the first time in the service’s history, you can create your own pricing by combining what you like and cashing out – no base plan necessary!
If you want more flexibility in your membership options, you can choose certain networks without subscribing to the Base Plan. Get more details.
The difference between this standalone mash-up and the base plan is that the latter includes over 85 channels, including live and local TV, sports, entertainment, and news for $64.99 USD per month while the former is quite limited. Still, it will provide many with plenty of entertainment for less of a chunk out of their pockets, and that’s a win in my book.
The best part is that those with a standalone subscription – whatever price they end up cashing out at due to the channels they’ve chosen (each one costs a different amount, and you can even get one channel for just $2/mo.) still get access to unlimited cloud DVR, 6 accounts per household, 3 simultaneous streams and more!
Obviously, the base plan offers a whole lot more content, and what is on tap is much more valuable than the channels they’ve given you to choose from for individual subscriptions, but regardless, the more options you have, the better off you are, right?
I believe that the fact that many have lost interest in Google’s live TV service over the past year or two is a major driving factor for this pricing. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is its effort to try to salvage its identity before giving up on the service, despite its importance in the future of Fiber. Who knows – with Stadia on the chopping block this week, Google may just be feeling a little trigger-happy with its house cleaning tactics.
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