For years, YouTube TV offered a cable-like subscription service with a high price and tons of supported channels. There is no “cord,” but the currently $82.99/month subscription with over 100 networks is certainly reminiscent of cable plans. Although YouTube TV is one of the most value-focused ways to get that many channels in a single streaming service, it faced many of the same problems as cable — people were paying for extra channels they didn’t need.
That’s finally changing now, as YouTube TV announced tailor-made plans that match certain interests with fewer, more focused channels. There’s a Sports Plan, Sports and News Plan, Entertainment Plan, and the News, Entertainment, and Family Plan. The primary, all-inclusive YouTube TV plan is still on offer, but the four above alternatives will add some much-needed variety and customization to the platform.
Why I’m switching to YouTube TV’s Sports Plan
I watch most sports leagues occasionally, but my passion is college basketball. That is a tough sport to follow for an entire season without subscribing to every streaming service under the sun. My favorite conference, the Big East, streams games on Fox Sports, NBC Sports, TNT Sports, and ESPN. That means I’d need, at a minimum, subscriptions to FOX One, Peacock, HBO Max, and ESPN Unlimited to follow one Big East basketball team for the year.
FOX One is $20 per month, Peacock Premium is $11 per month, HBO Max Standard is $18.50 per month, and ESPN Unlimited is $30 per month. Combined, that’s nearly $80 monthly or over $950 for the year. That’s the price of the four subscription services I need to watch my college team (St. John’s) play in the Big East. It’s outrageous.
YouTube TV’s Sports Plan has the channels to replace each of those streaming services. It offers the major broadcast networks required to watch primetime games, which are ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, The CW, and Ion. The Disney suite of sports channels is covered by ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, NFL Network, SEC Network, and the ACC Network. There’s also FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, CBS Sports Network, and NBC Sports Network. Every channel I need to watch a season of college basketball is included.
While not necessary for my needs, the Sports Plan also includes USA Network, Golf Channel, and NBA TV.
That’s an incredible lineup that lets fans of certain sports follow an entire season of coverage with a single subscription. We took that for granted when cable TV was ubiquitous, but in the streaming era, it’s unprecedented. It’s all for $55 per month with the new-subscriber rate — saving me about $25 each month compared to what I was paying for FOX One, Peacock, HBO Max, and ESPN Unlimited individually.
What’s great about this grouping specifically is that it cuts out the non-sports fluff that pads out the base YouTube TV subscription. Buying the standard $83 monthly YouTube TV subscription wouldn’t save me any money. On the flip side, the focused Sports Plan absolutely will save me money — and a lot of it.
What’s missing from YouTube TV’s Sports Plan
Notably, full ESPN Unlimited access won’t be available until this fall. Games streamed on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, or Paramount Plus exclusively won’t be available, either. Some games available on those streaming services aren’t simulcast on cable networks, so a YouTube TV Sports Plan won’t save you from subscribing to them.
That said, it all depends on which sports and teams you follow. In my case, using YouTube TV’s Sports Plan will save me about $25 in my quest to watch as many Big East college basketball games as possible, and I’m thrilled.