YouTube TV might be getting cheaper in 2026, but there’s a catch

In the US, there are a number of live TV streaming options — such as DirecTV, Sling TV, Fubo, and Hulu+ Live TV — but YouTube TV remains one of the biggest and most popular. The main drawback for cord-cutters, however, is price. The base plan starts at $83 per month, a steep jump from the $35 monthly fee it launched with in 2017. To make the service more affordable and attract more users, Google may finally introduce changes that users have been waiting years for.

YouTube TV is reportedly preparing to launch new, lower-cost TV packages early next year, according to Cord Cutter News. These lower-cost packages would target specific audiences, with one of the main options said to be a sports-focused package featuring channels like ESPN, Fox Sports, and NBC Sports.

Right now, YouTube TV offers only a single all-in-one plan with more than 100 live channels. The idea behind these new, lower-cost packages, or “skinny TV bundles” as they’re often called, is to take select channels from the full lineup and offer them in smaller, cheaper packages to help cut down on the cost of live TV, and offer people just the channels they actually want to watch.

It’s important to note that YouTube TV hasn’t made any official announcement about this, and Cord Cutter News doesn’t divulge its source. So while it’s exciting that YouTube TV could finally be offering some cheaper TV packages soon, it’s worth taking this with a grain of salt right now.

YouTube TV could be taking a page from DirecTV’s playbook

DirecTV offers Genre Packs, which may be similar to what YouTube TV might eventually offer

Besides a potentially more affordable sports package coming to YouTube TV next year, Cord Cutter News also reports that YouTube might offer other inexpensive options, such as a kids package with channels like Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, as well as an “entertainment-focused” package that includes channels with drama series and movies.

So far, all these cheaper, smaller packages that YouTube TV could offer next year remind me of DirecTV’s Genre Packs. While DirecTV offers several big all-in-one packages with lots of channels, its Genre Packs, which it launched earlier this year, are much cheaper and offer just a selection of channels aimed at specific audiences.

For example, DirecTV’s MyEntertainment pack includes over 60 news and entertainment channels, such as A&E, AMC, CNN, HGTV, and FX, for $35 per month. DirecTV also offers a MySports Genre Pack, which includes over 20 sports-focused channels, including ESPN, NBC, TNT, CBS Sports Network, and local ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC stations where available, priced at $60 per month.

In my view, more affordable, targeted bundles are a smarter direction for live TV — and a much better alternative to the bloated, all-in-one packages that some streamers offer, where you end up paying for content you’ll never watch.

It sounds like YouTube TV may be taking a page directly from DirecTV’s playbook if it launches lower-cost, genre-based packages next year — and honestly, I’m all for it. I know plenty of people who have zero interest in sports and only want entertainment channels, just as I know others who only turn on live TV for sports and get everything else from streaming services like Netflix, and these new lower-cost TV packages would work great for them.

In my view, more affordable, targeted bundles are a smarter direction for live TV — and a much better alternative to the bloated, all-in-one packages that some streamers offer, where you end up paying for content you’ll never watch.

YouTube TV hasn’t officially announced these potential bundles, and Cord Cutter News didn’t name its source, so it’s unclear whether these cheaper YouTube TV packages might actually come next year. In other news, YouTube TV recently signed a new distribution deal with Disney, so at least all the Disney-owned channels will remain on the service for the foreseeable future, including ESPN.