YouTube TV cuts price to woo new users in limited Verizon deal

Over the last few months, the major streaming providers experienced a roller-coaster ride.

New sales deals, competing bidding offers, failed agreements, new offers, perk cancellations, and everything in between have impacted subscribers. Subscription cancellations and new sign-ups both spiked.

YouTube TV cancellations rose in November during a two-week-long blackout of Disney-owned channels, due to a carriage dispute.

During the disagreement, when millions of subscribers lost access to popular channels, including ABC, ESPN, the Disney Channel, FX, and National Geographic, the streaming giant offered subscribers a $20 credit because Disney content was unavailable “for an extended period of time.” 

The $20 credit appears not to have made a significant difference, as YouTube TV had the highest cancellation rate in over a year, according to data from subscription data provider Antenna, shared exclusively with Business Insider.

Other live TV streaming services, including DirecTV Stream, Sling, and Hulu + Live TV, experienced higher churn at the same time, but their new sign-up rates also spiked. Among streaming giants, Hulu + TV had the largest gain, and DirecTV doubled its new subscribers.

According to analysts Brandon Katz, insights and content strategy director at entertainment data provider Greenlight Analytics, and Alan Wolk, media analyst and co-founder of research firm TVREV, several factors influence higher cancellation and new sign-up rates.

New sign-ups mostly reflect subscribers switching between streamers to get the content they want, influenced by disputes like the Disney blackout, other blackouts (e.g., NBC-FuboTV), and sports seasons and promotions driving interest.

"The market is very much in flux," Wolk told Business Insider. "You have some people leaving, and some people coming in, depending on what they want to watch.”

Meanwhile, YouTube TV continues to launch new generous deals to win back previous — and lure new — subscribers.

YouTube TV cuts price for new subscribers in limited-time Verizon deal

YouTube TV has just announced a special promotional offer in partnership with Verizon, reducing the monthly price by $20 for the first six months. The offer is only for new subscribers, and it requires a qualifying home internet or mobile phone line, reported Cord Cutters News.

Currently, the standard monthly price for YouTube TV is $82.99, and this limited-time offer reduces it to $62.99 per month for the next six months.

Verizon’s official page promoting the deal reads, “YouTube TV is everything live TV should be. Get 100+ live TV channels, unlimited DVR space, on-demand movies, add-on networks, and more. Includes 6 household accounts and 3 simultaneous streams.”

The discount applies to Home Internet and Mobile lines.

YouTube TV, Verizon limited-time offer highlights

• The offer reduces the monthly price to $62.99 from the standard $82.99 for the following six months.
• After six months, subscribers will be billed at the standard rate.
• The limited-time offer is for new subscribers only.
• Eligible customers must pair the subscription with Verizon’s 5G Home or LTE Home internet plans.
• New subscribers can cancel anytime without penalty.
• To sign up, users can visit Verizon’s website or app to sign up for a qualifying internet plan and add YouTube TV by visiting the Verizon page promoting the deal.

YouTube TV, Verizon offer comes at a perfect time for sports fans

The limited-time offer for new subscribers comes at a perfect time for sports fans who are still looking to catch the remaining NFL and college football season. What’s more, the upcoming March Madness tournament could lure a number of new subscribers.

Since cancellation is free at any time, the generous deal offers a lot of flexibility for those who are just looking for streaming services during the major sports events. With YouTube TV, subscribers have an unlimited DVR storage option to record and replay their favorite highlights.

With YouTube TV, Verizon cheaper deal, sports enthusiasts can enjoy:

• The rest of the NFL season and playoffs.
• Potential Super Bowl contenders in December and January.
• College football games.
• March Madness.
• The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournament.

“Discounts through telecom partners are becoming a key retention tool,” said media consultant Elena Vasquez, as reported by TipRanks. “For sports-heavy households, saving $120 over six months is significant, especially when it covers must-watch events like the NFL playoffs and March Madness.”

Price is a major factor for cord cutters as streaming rates rise

At times of inflation, higher food prices and more economic challenges, many people around the country are forced to tighten their wallets and cut their expenses. In situations like this, entertainment is the first area to reduce spending, because it is not as essential as food and housing.

In fact, about 64% of cord-cutters dropped a streaming service in the past year due to rising costs or switched to a cheaper or ad-supported plan, according to a report by All About Cookies. 

More Streaming:

• HBO Max unveils new way to watch beloved shows
• CNN makes generous limited-time offer to subscribers
• YouTube TV unveils generous new offers for subscribers

“The reason you are seeing price increases is [that] the cost to produce good content and monetize it is only going up,” Adam Deutsch, managing director at Deloitte Consulting, told CNBC. Deutsch said the volume of required content is also pushing prices higher, and he foresees more consolidation and fewer big players.

More and more streaming giants are coming up with special offers, bundle deals, and other promotions as the competition heats up.

Streamers that raised prices in 2025: 

• YouTube TV increased its monthly price by $10 to $82.99 in January 2025, according to CBS News.
• Netflix raised prices after revealing its last quarter of 2024 brought in 18.9 million new subscribers.
• Fubo increased prices by $5 per month on all its English-language plans for new subscribers, according to The Streamable. 
• Apple TV raised prices for the third time in three years, reported CNBC. 
• Disney+ raised the monthly price from $9.99 to $11.99 and an ad-free plan from $15.99 to $18.99 per month, according to MacRumors. 
• HBO Max also increased its subscription fees across all plans, reported TechCrunch. 

Earlier this year, other streamers including Peacock, Dropout.tv, and Paramount made similar moves. 

YouTube TV has targeted sports fans recently

YouTube TV’s offering is not oriented only toward sports enthusiasts, though the timing might matter more to those interested in big sports events. YouTube TV offers more than 100 channels, from local broadcast and news outlets, including MSNBC and CNN, and entertainment channels such as Disney and AMC.

However, over the last couple of months, YouTube TV made several moves that matter more for subscribers interested in sports content.

On Nov. 17, it became the first to relaunch a brand-new 24-hour linear channel, NBC Sports Network (NBCSN). 

Shortly after the relaunch of a major sports channel that features a wide range of popular sporting events and programming, surprising news broke about YouTube TV rolling out new, cheaper TV packages and ESPN Unlimited. 

Starting early in 2026, YouTube TV will launch a dedicated sports-only package prioritizing major leagues and events.

YouTube TV Sports Plan will include: 

• FS1
• NBC Sports Network
• All ESPN Networks
• ESPN Unlimited

In addition, YouTube TV recently improved an important feature for sports fans: Multiview.

The Multiview feature is the mode that enables users to watch several channels at once. Up until now, the feature contained one annoying characteristic — a noticeable sound icon or a bright border around the active audio channel.

Now, while the highlight still appears when a user first starts the Multiview feature or switches audio to a different feed, it quickly fades away. Logically, it reappears only when a subscriber changes focus again.

Related: Apple TV adds key feature Netflix dropped