YouTube TV hikes prices to $73 a month, blaming rising content costs

YouTube TV's price was increased by Google on Thursday. A subscription to the service is going up from $65 per month to $73 per month starting in April, according to an email sent on Thursday to subscribers.

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YouTube TV is Google's alternative to cable television. The service allows users to watch cable channels and live TV through the internet.

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“In order to ensure you receive the best service, we are updating our price in response to rising content costs,” the company wrote in an email to subscribers.

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The move by Google to increase the price of over-the-air subscriptions for cord-cutters comes after several competing online streaming services have also raised the amount they charge for their services. These include services from Disney, Apple, and HBO.

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In December, YouTube TV announced that it had acquired the rights to the NFL's "Sunday Ticket" package, which will give it the ability to sell subscribers a package of out-of-market NFL games that are not broadcast on local television in their area.

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There have been a number of bidders for the package, including Apple and Disney, who were willing to pay about $2 billion per year for the deal, Trade Algo reported. The price for Google's Sunday Ticket bundle has not been announced yet, but it used to cost DirecTV about $80 a month when it was owned by the company.

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There is also a possibility that Google will reduce the price of an add-on that provides access to 4K streams in higher resolution, from $20 per month to $10 per month, according to the email that Google sent out.