YouTube on Monday was introduced YouTube TV programs at lower prices that will allow subscribers to better tailor their plans to their own interests in areas such as sports, news and entertainment. The company said it will offer more than 10 different plans to choose from, all priced below the $82.99 per month basic YouTube TV plan that has access to more than 100 networks. The new designs will start rolling out this week.
While this master plan won’t go away, the new plans will allow customers to choose what’s most important and what they could do without cutting costs.
Among the new plans are a $64.99 per month sports plan, a $71.99 per month Sports + News plan, a less expensive $54.99 per month entertainment plan, and a $69.99 per month News + Entertainment + Family plan, which includes content for children.
Sports programming includes all major broadcasters, as well as networks such as FS1, NBC Sports Network, all ESPN networks and ESPN Unlimited. This plan is $18 cheaper per month than the main plan.
YouTube TV news channels include CNBC, Fox News, CNN, MS NOW and Bloomberg, along with other national news channels. Combined with Sports, the package costs $11 less per month than the main YouTube TV plan.
The entertainment-only plan is $28 cheaper per month than the main plan and includes major broadcasters as well as FX, Hallmark, Comedy Central, Bravo, Paramount, Food Network and HGTV. Families with young children can add other channels like Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, National Geographic, Cartoon Network and PBS Kids for a bit longer.
The company also offers discounts for new subscribers, which could further reduce the price of some plans for either the first few months or the first year. Subscribers will continue to have access to unlimited YouTube TV DVR, support for up to six family members on one account, multiview and more.
Other add-ons such as NFL Sunday Ticket + RedZone, HBO Max and 4K Plus can also be purchased to further customize programming.
The company says all new designs will be released in the coming weeks.
Custom bundles are no longer a new concept in streaming — for example, à la carte options were a key part of the original Sling TV offering. This element of personalization was also one of the factors intended to make streaming a better alternative to traditional pay TV, where consumers often ended up paying for channels they didn’t want.
But as streamers added more content, networks and, in particular, sports programming, the cost of streaming rose to compete with cable and linear television. Live TV streams like YouTube TV can still offer convenience and some savings more expensive cablebut it wasn’t exactly affordable anymore.
These new packages have come to market at a time when consumer confidence is at the lowest level in the last 11 years, due to fears about the job market and higher prices, which have made consumers more cautious about their spending.
