YouTube TV, which costs $73 a month, agrees to end “$600 less than cable” ads::Google to “modify or cease” ads after industry review board rejects appeal.

  • sorghum@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Remember when it was $35/month? Dropped them like a bad habbit when it went to $60 something. No ala carte and adding channels I never wanted were also contributing factors.

    • cbarrick@lemmy.world
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      Nit: It’s “à la carte” meaning “by the card” or “according to the menu”. Often the accent is dropped in English writing, but it’s always written as three words.

      This is just a stupid, meaningless nit-pick. I totally understood what you were saying, so it’s really not important. It’s just, the more you know, ya know?

      • Midnight Wolf@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        by the card

        G: yeah, we are charging you by the (payment) card, what is the issue here? Can’t please anyone these days…

      • Telodzrum@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Card is the literal translation; however a more correct translation would be “menu” or, traditionally, “bill of fare.”

    • Midnight Wolf@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Same. I moved my parents from directv to ytv, saving them like $150+ a month (maybe more, it was a huge deal). When ytv was like ‘puts on the proctology gloves’ with that first price hike, I pitched an ota antenna + TV tuner, hooked up to my already-paid plex server running on my nas. We dropped ytv a few days later and now pay $0.

      Smart move, G. Helping my family save so much money <3

    • nocturne213@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      I dropped around the same time. I really only had it for local channels, but the stuff I was watching ended up on other streaming apps day or two later anyway.

      • sorghum@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        It was a great delivery mechanism for live sports for me. I went back to sling and put up a TV antenna. Too bad none of my local channels come in great past 15 miles, but I’d be a fool to pay that premium for locals.

    • JJROKCZ@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I still pay them, I record F1 races, hgtv, cooking shows, and playoffs of a couple American sports. Then I can watch/rewatch whenever I want. I’m still ok at the current price but only because I don’t think I could reliably obtain the hgtv and cooking stuff on the seas that my wife and I enjoy

    • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I split YTTV with a couple friends. We have the 4K package which comes with unlimited screens. Only downsides are you need to link your Google accounts into a family and you have to be in the same general vicinity or YouTube will eventually lock you out for being outside of your home market. Still, I rather enjoy using the service for less than 30 a month.

      • survive@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        My Comcast is $78 for their highest tier channel lineup and DVR with no premium channels.

          • Fester@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            My Spectrum cable TV bill was around $85, but they also charged a $22 “broadcasting fee” on top of that. YTTV doesn’t have any added hidden fees (yet.) Spectrum makes a big deal advertising “no hidden fees,” so fuck them and their hidden fees. Their TV app was also horrible, constantly losing audio sync.

        • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          annoying if you actively do not want a tv subscription.

          Our guys won’t stop trying to bundle VoIP phones with their TV package.

          I don’t want a phone. My cell phone is set up as a tablet (can’t do calls or SMS;just data) and I love it. The only call I ever got on my last handset was some lying ad flunky trying to sell me a fucking tv package.

          They stopped asking me why I didn’t want the phone bundle after I told them that.

        • PsychedSy@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Cox was kinda like that. We got 2gig ATT fiber for way less than Cox at 1g because cox charges for unlimited.

      • TopTierKnees@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I currently pay $130 for cable and internet with Verizon (was $115 but they raised it recently). Cable package is comparable to youtube tv and the internet is 90 up/down.

        But I’m moving and if I want useful upload speeds from Comcast at the new place I need a package that’s something like $200+ per month. I’m going with tmobile internet and YouTube tv since it’s about $70 cheaper.

        Personally, I’d love to just diitch cable. I only want it for hockey and I can get that with ESPN+ and a VPN. But my wife watches it quite bit. She’s got a dozen shows on different cable channels she watches religiously.

        • June@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Jesus. I pay Comcast $50/month for 800 down/200 up + $10 for unlimited data.

        • Clegko@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Look into Dish Network or Sling. Both of them are usually cheaper than YouTube TV, but both have drawbacks. But if you get all the channels you want on them, you can save a ton.

          • TopTierKnees@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Doing won’t give us the channels my wife wants, and the place we’re moving into is too tree covered for satellite to work well (in addition to new not wanting to deal with it). Thanks for the suggestions though!

            • Clegko@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              What does she usually watch? I got my MIL on Frndly TV, which doesn’t carry ANY sports channels, so the costs are fairly low. All sorts of Hallmark, Lifetime, Game Show channels. Pretty sweet, honestly. https://try.frndlytv.com/

              Regardless, good luck finding something.

              • TopTierKnees@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Thanks, I’ll check them out! She watches all sorts of junk reality TV on lots of cable channels and network dramas. She’s also very tech technophobic so I’ll likely end up paying to make sure she can access everything from a single interface. Otherwise I’ll be called in to help her find her shows every night.

                • Clegko@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  Heh, yea, I get that. I call it the mother in law test. My wife and I are fairly techy, but my MIL refuses to pay a cable bill and isn’t satisfied with the shows available on the antenna. I’ve got an entire Emby setup for her to use, and have mostly trained her how to use Overseerr to request shows/movies for her to watch, too. It was a bit of a pain getting here, but it works well now.

        • PsychedSy@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          I think I’m paying 120/mo for 2gig down and 350 or 500 up, unlimited. I just use yt premium and pirate all else so I just need the fast connection

          90? How do you live?

      • venusenvy47@reddthat.com
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        1 year ago

        I went to YouTubeTV earlier this year and it’s definitely cheaper than RCN, which recently bought WOW. I have Comcast as a choice but they aren’t better. The base rate for RCN that they advertise is $59, but they add four different fees that you don’t see until your first bill: Sports Surcharge, Broadcast TV surcharge, franchise fees, and Entertainment Networks Surcharge. After those add-ons it was $115, so I’m saving money because the YouTubeTV price is actually advertised properly, without these ridiculous add ons.

          • venusenvy47@reddthat.com
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            1 year ago

            I think I’m saving about $500 per year, so the ad isn’t completely accurate. I think they based it on the savings from before they raised the rate to $73.

      • Riyria
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        1 year ago

        I honestly have no idea how much cable costs where I live and it’s not for a lack of trying. I’ve tried to look but it’s literally not possible to look on mediacom’s website to get cable prices unless I add a cable package to my internet plan. My only other option is to call them, and their entire support is outsourced and it’s a toss up on whether I get someone who speaks English or not. One time the call center person spoke so little English that they had to transfer me to someone else.

    • PeterPoopshit@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      “It’s just the price of your daily coffee”

      I self brew my own value pack coffee because I’m poor. I even have a reusable metal mesh coffee filter insert so I don’t have to buy coffee filters, that’s how cheap I am.

      • neutron@thelemmy.club
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        1 year ago

        Is this another one of those Silicon Valley syndrome where paying for an overpriced latte/chai/kombucha every day is the expected routine?

        • atetulo@lemm.ee
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          Yes.

          It’s sad how much we’ve normalized overpaying for brown shitwater so we can work harder for peanuts.

      • Microplasticbrain@lemm.ee
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        Just use normal coffee filters, they are better for your health and are cheap af. The paper filters block some carcinogens that the metal ones do not. Your call, cheers

      • gronjo45@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Oh wow that sounds like an interesting engineering problem to make a reusable coffee filter… I am quite broke myself and my ears always perk up at ways to reduce my already small caffeine budget.

        How does it taste out of the metal mesh filter? I like to make mine in an Aeropress and heat it up in an old kettle that’s been in my family for ages.

        • Salix@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Using a metal mesh filter will make your coffee have more flavor but also more oily. I don’t mind this because a lot of coffee I drink don’t use paper filters.

          Using a paper filter gives you a cleaner cup since the paper filter helps filter out the oils. It’s nice when I’m making something like Japanese Iced Coffee in a V60

          The aeropress has a couple metal mesh options.

        • niucllos@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          I have an aeropress and have only ever used a metal filter with it! I’ve had normal paper filtered aeropress coffee and I can’t taste the difference

      • June@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        I have an expensive super automatic that I just pour beans in. No filters or disposable parts, just gotta pull the brew group out to rinse every week and clean it out occasionally.

        I paid $700 for the machine but have probably saved more than that between the k cups I was using before and going out for coffee way less (it’s not as good but it hits that espresso craving well enough for me), not to mention way more environmentally friendly while still retaining push button coffee. I now spend about $10/month on coffee.

        • PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          I did the same but I bought a cheap IKEA French press that I’ve had for 10 years. I think it was like $15. My coffee bean grinder was an old Krupp that I found in my parents basement from the 1970s, made in West Germany.

          • June@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            I tried doing that but found myself just not using it. With coffee machines I kept putting off cleaning them until the grounds got moldy.

            For whatever reason (thinking executive dysfunction now that I have an ADHD diagnosis and am learning more about it) I was never able to manage using those tools regularly. Then came the Keurig and I immediately went from going to Starbucks 4-6 times a week to 3-4 times a month. Saved me loads, but never liked the waste of the k cups. I tried a reusable cup but had the same problem as the coffee machine and French press. Once income came up enough and it was within budget, bought the super automatic and I’ll be sticking with it until it breaks irrevocably because there’s no way in hell I can afford to replace it again since going from being a dink to a single income.

    • oakey66@lemmy.world
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      I canceled that shit and got a homerun for football. If you’re going to just make me stream cable for the price of cable, you can go suck on a tailpipe if you think I’m paying over 850 a year. Fuck google. Fuck cable companies. And fuck these studios for thinking they can keep doing this to people.

    • Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Internet companies will only be cheap until they put cable out of business, then we will see cable company costs for Internet services.

      • arefx@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        You underestimate the amount of times boomers can rewatch Mountain Men and Deadliest Catch, and what they are willing to sacrifice to do so.

      • peopleproblems@lemmy.world
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        You know, that’d a damn good point. We can judge the price all we want, but Alphabet has all the tools and analytics to say "lmfao guys watch, we can double the cost and we lose one out of 230 subscribers "

  • Tygr@lemmy.world
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    I still cannot understand how anyone decides to have 30% of their programming to be ads AND decide to pay for it.

      • thelastknowngod@lemm.ee
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        I don’t think the sports management people are hurting for cash in any way but there has to be some tipping point eventually when the value of the exclusive broadcast contracts is overshadowed by the losses from people just straight up not watching anymore.

        I live in Turkey but if I try to watch a legal MLB stream I am told I’m in a blackout region. What local advertiser or broadcaster is being harmed by me watching baseball from fucking Turkey!? They would rather change the literal rules of the game to drive engagement rather than just allow more people to watch in a convenient way…

      • Lemonparty@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Literally the only reason we have TV of any type. We dumped YTTV for Hulu, but once they say we can’t share the package with my father in law well dump that too and I’ll go back to streams.

  • redimk@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    So what is the next step for Google? Raising YT TV to $100/month? $200/month? Raising Youtube Premium to $30/month? Google one to $200/month? Laying off employees?

    I mean they gotta keep hitting that 5% growth every year, right? When does it stop? When there’s nobody else at the company? When people can’t afford anything anymore and go bankrupt?

    When are companies gonna understand that growth for the sake of growth every year is just not feasable?

    • SmoothIsFast@citizensgaming.com
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      When are companies gonna understand that growth for the sake of growth every year is just not feasable?

      Depends when we actually enforce and support the SECs market reforms instead of defending them. As it sits once, that 5% target is no longer consistently hitable the naked shorts will start to come from maket makers and hedge funds allowing wall street to make just as much money in the growth stage as in the desth stage of a company plus when Google eventually gets to that point they can buy up all the IP during the bankruptcy process for their next unlimited growth candidate to usurp. Shit is absolutely fucked, plus congress has basically called out in their deals to keep the government running that the SEC can’t use any of the budget to further market reform, so your gonna need to vote in candidates who support Markey reform, and proper reform at that sense baring indivual household shareholders from being able to participate and get accurate disclosures on off market trade data, equity swap data, or just widening the gap between wall street and retail investors access to data is also considered market reform by those corrupt individuals supporting wall streets mess.

  • atetulo@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    You can stream pretty much anything for free here: https://fmoviesz.to/

    Just make sure you have uBlock Origin installed.

    If you have any issues, try searching ‘free streaming sites reddit’ and go from there.

    Your wallets will thank me later.

    • Scotty_Trees@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I’ve never heard of this site before and you can bet I’ll be adding it to my bookmarks uhh I mean block list right away!

      • AnAngryAlpaca@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        The downside is that sometimes you get really bad quality, like some guy filming it in a cinema with terrible focus, contrast and sound and people walking in and out…

        • MYCOOLNEJM@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Only if you watch very recent movies that aren’t released to dvd or streaming yet. That’s always the case with all pirate websites

        • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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          The real value of those sites (and there’s a ton of them with mostly the same content), is that pretty much everything is there.

          No fucking about with JustWatch to find which of your services (if any) has it, only to find you can rent it for £15. You just type what you were after and watch it.

          And then switch to another steam and fuck about with the subtitles again because sometimes movies cut out halfway through, or the sound goes out of sync.

          • PraiseTheSoup@lemm.ee
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            Don’t forget the part where JustWatch says it’s on Paramount+ so you go looking and it’s not there. Now you’re right back where you started, but you’ve lost 10 minutes because the P+ app is complete garbage.

            • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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              I’ve never subbed to P+, because every advert I’ve seen for it has somehow made me want it even less.

    • 1024_Kibibytes@lemm.ee
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      Well, you need a router or access points instead of a cable box. And you can stream it over Wi-Fi. Yeah, you can stream it over Wi-Fi. That’s why this is vaguely better than regular cable TV.

      • JiraiyaIsNoLyah@sh.itjust.works
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        Back a few years ago when I had Verizon, I was able to stream via the Verizon app. But then sling came along and gave me the option to choose channels that I wanted AND have DVR for only $50. If it starts creeping back up then I will probably just go back to cable. I already have internet through them anyway 🤷🏿‍♂️

      • calewerks@fanaticus.social
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        1 year ago

        I went back to cable and got an old cablecard and networked tuner. No rental fees for a box, and I can stream it wherever without checking in or dealing with location restrictions, and my DVR is still mine even if I leave and subscribe to something else.

    • guywithoutaname@lemm.ee
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      One part of it is retransmission fees. Cable channels charge an arm and a leg because they can and broadcast OTA TV networks charge a fee as well even though their signal is free with an antenna. It just gets more and more expensive as a result as long as there are customers who can tolerate it.

  • Phegan@lemmy.world
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    I used YouTube TV early on when it was a legit alternative to cable. It costs just as much so there is no benefit. I cancelled when the prices were raised to 45 a month. They can fuck straight off at 73 a month

  • nooneescapesthelaw@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Relevant bits

    YouTube TV launched in 2017 for $35 a month, but the base package is $72.99 after the latest price hike in March 2023. Google’s “$600 less than cable” claim was challenged by Charter, which uses the brand name Spectrum and is the second-biggest cable company after Comcast. The National Advertising Division (NAD) previously ruled in Charter’s favor but Google appealed the decision to the NARB in August.

    “Charter contended the $600 figure was inaccurate, arguing that its Spectrum TV Select service in Los Angeles only cost around $219 a year more than Google’s YouTube TV service,” according to a MediaPost article in August.

    A Google ad claimed that YouTube TV provided $600 in “annual average savings” compared to cable as of January 2023. A disclosure on the ad said the price was for “new users only” and that the $600 annual savings was “based on a study by SmithGeiger of the published cost of comparable standalone cable in the top 50 Nielsen DMAs, including all fees, taxes, promotion pricing, DVR box rental and service fees, and a 2nd cable box.”

  • ApexHunter@lemmy.ml
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    Next advertising campaign: Cable companies sued to keep us from telling you how much money you’d save by switching to YouTube TV. Find out the numbers for yourself at calculate your savings link

  • shaelz@lemmy.world
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    I don’t get it I thought I pay like $5 a month for my 1/6 portion of YouTube premium family account which included YouTube TV (which i never use)

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    Google has agreed to stop advertising YouTube TV as “$600 less than cable” after losing an appeal of a previous ruling that went against the company.

    The National Advertising Review Board (NARB) announced today that it rejected Google’s appeal and recommended that the company discontinue the YouTube TV claim.

    The National Advertising Division (NAD) previously ruled in Charter’s favor but Google appealed the decision to the NARB in August.

    A disclosure on the ad said the price was for “new users only” and that the $600 annual savings was “based on a study by SmithGeiger of the published cost of comparable standalone cable in the top 50 Nielsen DMAs, including all fees, taxes, promotion pricing, DVR box rental and service fees, and a 2nd cable box.”

    Agreeing with the NAD decision, an NARB panel found that the price comparison provided by Google did not justify the “$600 less” claim.

    Google said it “disagrees with NARB’s determination that people watching the challenged commercials will somehow understand ‘cable’ to mean something other than traditional cable television,” but “intends to modify or cease the disputed advertising claim.”


    The original article contains 443 words, the summary contains 184 words. Saved 58%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!