By Denny Jacob

 

YouTube on Thursday said it's raising the price of its TV subscription offering, citing rising content costs.

The Alphabet Inc.-owned video platform said the monthly cost will increase for the first time in three years to $72.99 from $64.99. It was first offered in 2017 for $35 a month.

"We're making changes to pricing to keep bringing you the best service possible," the company said on its website.

New members will see the price change effective immediately, while existing members will see the change beginning April 18.

YouTube TV is lowering the monthly price of its 4K Plus add-on to $9.99 from $19.99.

The pricing change comes as other competitors in the streaming space, including Netflix Inc., Walt Disney Co.'s Disney+ and Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Video platform, have raised prices in recent months.

YouTube has also expanded its offering and taken steps to grow its video ambitions in recent months. The Alphabet division in December said it will pay an average price of roughly $2 billion a year to secure rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket Franchise, The Wall Street Journal reported. It also is testing a new hub of free, ad-supported streaming channels, the Journal reported in January.

 

Write to Denny Jacob at denny.jacob@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 16, 2023 14:46 ET (18:46 GMT)

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