YouTube TV has long been one of our favorite cable TV alternatives. But with the upcoming price increase, that may change.

YouTube TV announced in an email sent to customers today (including me) that it will increase its monthly subscription fee by $10 starting January 13, 2025. This means that Live TV's starting price of $72.99/month will become $82.99/month. This is bad news for everyone.

YouTube TV is not the only one to raise its price; in August, Hulu + Live TV was raised as part of Disney's price hike. It now starts at $83, which at the time seemed like it could ruin Hulu's Live TV service.

But it turns out that Disney was just ahead of the curve; Sling TV is not only one of our favorite cable alternatives, but also one of our picks for the best streaming service. But after Sling TV raised its prices, from $40 to $46 per month, we began to question the value of the service. In fact, when Sling wrote about the price increases on their website, they stated that “these price increases are industry-wide, with other major streaming providers raising prices throughout 2024.” And now, after YouTube TV's price increase, it turns out they were right.

So now it's official: cord-cutting is the same price as cable TV. Well, ...... Almost. CableTV.com lists Xfinity's cable plans as: Choice TV ($20-$25), Popular TV ($50-$60/month), Ultimate TV ($68.50-$80/month). At first glance, this seems like a bargain, but these numbers still do not include hidden fees or regional differences in price and availability. Nevertheless, cable TV costs are now essentially on par with the best live TV streaming services. In other words, it is more difficult than ever to save money on TV bills without having to cancel some streaming services.