Google’s virtual pay TV service, YouTube TV, has announced its first price bump in a year, upping its monthly charge by $15 to $65 a month.
The price bump will start today, June 30, for new subscribers. For existing subscribers, it will be initiated for the billing cycle starting July 30.
The subscription OTT service, which serves live-linear access to more than 80 pay TV channels, currently has around 2 million subscribers, according to figures released during the fourth-quarter earnings call for parent company Alphabet.
In a blog post published today, Google/YouTube attributed the price increase to a recent program licensing deal with ViacomCBS, which added BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land and VH1 to the YouTube TV program guide.
“We don’t take these decisions lightly, and realize how hard this is for our members,” the post said. "That said, this new price reflects the rising cost of content and we also believe it reflects the complete value of YouTube TV, from our breadth of content to the features that are changing how we watch live TV.”
With the price increase, YouTube TV is now significantly more expensive than the top vMVPD service, Hulu with Live TV, which offers around 65 channels for $55 a month.
Dish Network’s Sling TV, which has slipped to third place in terms of vMVPD customer base sizing, delivers more than 50 channels in its “Blue” iteration for $30 a month.
