Some YouTube TV fans are using a classic trick to escape the price hike

• YouTube TV is going up $10 on Janaury 13, 2025 to $82.99
• Threatening to cancel might let you pay $72.99 for a few more months
• Most success is had via YouTube TV on your PC's browser

We all like to threaten that streaming price hikes, password sharing crackdowns, or content removal will be the straw that breaks the camels back and finally convince us to leave one of our subscribed-to services, but when it comes down to it some of us just stick with the streamer because we don’t want to lose access to our favorite shows.

However, if you actually try to follow through on that threat in this instance, YouTube TV might convince you to stay with a price lock for a few more months that counteracts its 2025 price hike.

In case you missed it, YouTube TV is raising its prices by $10 a month on January 13 for existing members – making your monthly fee $82.99. That cost is already in effect for new subscribers.

But if you go through the steps to cancel your subscription some users are reporting they’re being tempted with six more months of the current cheaper $72.99 monthly price. That’s according to some users on Reddit as well as a member of The Verge’s staff who also received the deal.

Cancellation loop from r/youtubetv

Not everyone is being offered the low rate, though one consistent factor is how you try to leave. People are reporting that for the best success you need to abandon YouTube TV – or at least pretend to abandon it – through a web browser on your PC.

From here you go to your YouTube TV Settings page, look for the Membership options, and then Manage to start the faux cancellation process – or cancel for real if you’re interested in leaving YouTube TV no matter how well it tries to tempt you.

Again it does seem rather hit or miss, and we expect that this ‘deal’ (it’s not really a deal as you’re simply paying the price you currently do for a few more months) won’t be live for too much longer. That said, if you’re wanting to stay with YouTube TV then you don’t have a lot to lose if you want to see if you can save $10 a month on your subscription for six months.

Why is YouTube TV getting pricier?

YouTube says "the rising cost of content" and its investments in service quality are to blame for price rises, though it did also boast $50 billion in revenue this year for the first time as ad revenues increased 12% year-on-year. Google doesn’t share YouTube’s costs, so perhaps it's spending a lot of that on content and improving services, but we only have YouTube’s word to go on.

And while many of us hate price hikes, it unfortunately doesn’t look like we’ve yet reached a breaking point. That’s because – as research firm GWI points out – three-quarters of us aren’t currently seriously considering quitting our subscriptions.

At least in this instance there’s a way for us to push back on price hikes for a little longer, but unfortunately it looks like higher prices will continue to be the trend in 2025. We’ll keep highlighting any deals we find, but your best money saving effort might be to take stock of which services you use most and culling the ones you don’t rely on much.

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