YouTube TV Price Increase 2020

YouTube TV and some Live TV Streaming Services have recently increased their prices. Fortunately these live streaming Cord Cutting service price increases are still not as bad as the rate hikes from Comcast every year. However the YouTube TV price increase does make Cord Cutters re-evaluate what are the best live TV streaming services in 2020. The Live TV Streaming Services we recommend for most customers are actually only $20-$30 a month for 35-60 Cable channels and haven’t ever had a significant price increase in their history.

Why Cable TV prices keep increasing?

First, it’s important to understand why these Cable TV price increases happen. In short, the Pay TV Providers (Comcast, DirecTV, Dish, etc.) pay the Content Providers (Disney, Time Warner, CBS, etc.) for their channels. These major Content Providers keep raising their rates as well as forcing the TV Providers to buy channel bundles as opposed to A La Carte channels, so this is the real problem with TV. Sports, Local Networks and Cable News, in that order, are the most expensive channels. So a TV service that has Sports plus all the major network channels will always be more expensive. StreamWise Solutions’, formerly freeTVee, main focus is maximum freedom and maximum savings every month.

“By 2025, subscribers to traditional MVPDs (Cable TV) are expected to fall to 48.5 million, the retrans (Broadcast TV Fee) hurt rises to $22.91 per month, an 85% increase.”

Most recently CBS Viacom was forcing a bundle of TV channels on YouTube TV, as opposed to offering just CBS individually. Similar disputes in the last 12 months have involved Cable & Satellite facing of with HBO, CBS, Altitude Sports and more. Although live TV streaming services will always have a lower price point than Cable or Satellite, this dysfunctional relationship is the same reason that your old Cable & Satellite bills crept up every 6 months too.

In reality anyone that sticks with their old Cable & Satellite provider will actually have higher rate increases and much bigger bills. Pay TV prices will only get worse. Over 6 million people Cut The Cord from Cable & Satellite in 2019, yet Content Providers continue to raise prices, so Pay TV prices will only increase exponentially every year. Cable & Satellite will not only have higher rate increases but they will be happening more frequently, usually in the form of sneaky fees, bait & switch pricing and locked in contracts.

Cord Cutting options – still less expensive & no contracts

The nice thing about being a cord cutter is that you are not tied to a particular provider. Plus the equipment the StreamWise Solutions installs gives you complete freedom to choose what provider makes the most sense for you, plus cancel your service completely and pay nothing. If you are in a good reception area, we recommend installing a TV Antenna, since it gives you 50-60 channels free forever!

From our experience of helping people Cut The Cord and save money for 10 years, here are our recommendations for the best alternatives to You Tube TV.

1. KEEP YOUTUBE TV – Best option for non-techy or apartments. While a $15 price increase seems extreme, we don’t anticipate more increases of this amount in the years to come, and it’s still much less expensive than Cable TV with all of it’s sneaky fees. YouTube TV is one of the best live TV streaming services with a full DVR and 80+ top channels, plus they just made the YouTube TV integration with Fire TV easier too. If you are not techy (or you live in an apartment or condo where you can’t get antenna signal), then the easiest solution is to keep what you have and enjoy the new channels they added.
2. ANTENNA w/ FLEXIBLE FREEDOM – This is StreamWise Solutions top recommendation since it gives you the most flexibility & biggest monthly savings for life. If you live in a home and can get good antenna signal, then StreamWise Solutions can install a small & powerful attic or outdoor TV Antenna. The Antenna will get you 50-60 free channels, but most importantly it offers 100% free access to all the major local network channels in HD! Plus, if you want to integrate the TV Antenna with a less expensive Live TV Streaming Service like Philo or Sling (which now offers Fox News), we have a way to integrate it all together in an easy to use turn key solution. If you are an existing StreamWise Solutions customer you can even use your existing Amazon Fire TV & Mesh WiFi hardware you already have – check out the Flexible Freedom video here. The new antenna plus integration hardware is more complex to setup initially, and does have a 1x charge for us to install and live demo it for you. However, it will allow you to cut your Live TV Channel bundle price by at least 50%, plus give you the flexibility to completely cancel at any time and still get all of your local network channels for free every month. The TV Antenna will be paired with either Philo TV or Sling TV in place of YouTube TV.
   • Philo TV – 60+ lifestyle cable channels for only $20 per month (no news or sports & the HD Antenna is used for free local networks).
   • Sling TV – 35-80+ cable channel options including Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and lots of sports channels w/ limited DVR/Pause Live TV for $30+ per month (HD Antenna is used for free local networks).
3. SWITCH PROVIDERS TO HULU LIVE – Best for saving a little money monthly, if you are ok w/o a full DVR. Hulu Live is a direct competitor to YouTube TV. The current price is $55 but it’s $10 more to add a full DVR and Hulu Live’s prices could go up since it also includes local network channels like YouTube TV (this is why we recommend installing a TV Antenna). Hulu Live – 60+ cable channels for $55 a month includes 4 major local network channels.

Live TV Streaming Service Comparison

Every Live TV Streaming Service is different-Pros & Cons. We recommend you check out their websites and maybe sign up for a free trial to fully test how the new Live TV Streaming Service matches how you watch TV (before cancelling YouTube TV).

As you know, StreamWise Solutions is not a service provider and charges no monthly rates. However, for a reasonable 1x fee we can come out to your home and help you get set up with a TV Antenna or new streaming service if it’s overwhelming to make the transition yourself. For priority support and discounted trip charges please sign up for our Membership Plan.

We will also be hosting a related webinar on The Best Live TV Streaming Services which will be included as part of our free Weekly Wednesday Webinars. Our goal is to empower and educate people to make smart decisions about TV & Entertainment. This is why we only install Cord Cutting solutions that offer the most flexibility and monthly savings!