There’s a hidden $60 savings buried in YouTube TV—if you know where to click
Last week, YouTube TV ditched over 20 Disney-owned channels, after the two companies failed to reach a new content distribution deal ahead of the deadline. But now, YouTube TV is trying to make it up to subscribers who are reeling from their diminished viewing options.
According to multiple reports, YouTube TV seems to be (quietly) offering $10 credits on subscriber bills for six months, for a total savings of $60. But there’s a catch, which is that this credit won’t be automatically applied. It looks like users will have to do some digging through their YouTube TV account settings in order to opt in.
Here’s how to check for the credit
According to TechRadar, you’ll need to log in to your YouTube TV account on your desktop in order to find out if your account will receive the credit. Go to Settings, select Membership, and then Manage Plan. If the credit is available, you should see a message that says “Redeem your offer.” When you accept, the credit should appear on your next statement.
However, dozens of Reddit sleuths who have already tried to redeem the credit have come up empty, indicating that everyone may not be eligible.
Customers are still disgruntled
Either way, many users don’t feel that $10 a month makes up for losing over 20 channels they are paying for, like ABC, Disney Channel, FX, and Nat Geo, as well as popular live sports channels. “$10 ain’t gonna cut it for no ESPN,” one commenter wrote on a popular Reddit thread. “At a bare minimum, it’s going to cost $30 to get ESPN, so that’s a starting point. Add an extra $10/month for the hassle, and a $40 discount is what it would take for sports fans to stay with YTTV.”
Confusing credits
The $10 credit has also confused some users, especially because YouTube first proposed a $20 credit on October 23. “We know this is a frustrating and disappointing outcome for our subscribers, and we continue to urge Disney to work with us constructively to reach a fair agreement that restores their networks to YouTube TV. If their content remains off YouTube TV for an extended period of time, we’ll offer subscribers a $20 credit.”
Fast Company reached out to Google to find out the exact credit YouTube TV users can expect to see, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
An ongoing dispute
Previously, Fast Company reached out to Google over the dispute and was directed to an October 23 YouTube statement: “Last week, Disney used the threat of a blackout on YouTube TV as a negotiating tactic to force deal terms that would raise prices on our customers,” the post on YouTube’s blog read. “They’re now following through on that threat, suspending their content on YouTube TV. This decision directly harms our subscribers while benefiting their own live TV products, including Hulu + Live TV and Fubo.”
Unsurprisingly, Disney pointed the blame at Google. “Unfortunately, Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to deny their subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC. With a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor.”
The two companies remain in talks. And, in a statement provided to Deadline, a Disney spokesperson said the company asked YouTube to restore ABC to the service for election day on November 4.
“Despite the impasse that led to the current blackout, we have asked YouTube TV to restore ABC for Election Day so subscribers have access to the information they rely on. We believe in putting the public interest first and hope YouTube TV will take this small step for their customers while we continue to work toward a fair agreement.”
Google did not immediately respond to Fast Company‘s request for comment.
