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New plans are coming to YouTube TV. It's
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the biggest shakeup in the services
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history, and I've got what you need to
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know. Starting with number one, the
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timing of it all. Google made the
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announcement in December 2025 that its
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expanded lineup of YouTube TV plans will
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launch in early 2026. And why is that?
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Well, first, YouTube TV had to work out
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new deals with its content partners.
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sometimes a rocky process, but this
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timing will likely work out really well
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for current YouTube TV base plan
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subscribers who typically pause or
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cancel after NFL season because now
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they'll have some new options and may
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decide to stick around year round. All
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right, number two today. Let's talk
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about these new plans. More than 10
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genres specific packages are launching
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with full details on pricing and content
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still to come. But this announcement did
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call out one plan specifically, the
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YouTube TV Sports Plan. It's going to
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offer access to broadcast TV networks,
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as well as sports networks like FS1, NBC
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Sports Network, ESPN's networks, and
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ESPN Unlimited. You'll also be able to
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purchase add-ons like NFL Sunday Ticket
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and Red Zone with this plan. Now, one
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complaint I've heard about other skinny
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sports bundles from DirecTV and Fubo is
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that they still include at least some
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cable news networks. For example,
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DirecTV's My Sports has Fox News, CNN,
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MSNL, and more. If YouTube TV's sports
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plan sticks only to sports, that would
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be a gamecher, offering more flexibility
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than its competitors. And if you don't
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care about sports, there will be some
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plans for you, too, including ones
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focused on entertainment and family
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content. Stay tuned. Okay, we're up to
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number three. And here's what I've
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learned about the features. The YouTube
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TV base plan includes a whole lot of
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features that people really like, and it
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looks like they're going to be carried
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over to the skinny bundles. In its
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announcement about the sports plan,
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YouTube TV confirmed unlimited DVR,
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multi- view, key plays, and fantasy view
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will be available to people who sign up
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for the new sports plan, and hopefully
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the most important features for the
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other bundles, too. I recently put
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together a video with my thoughts on
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some changes YouTube TV should make to
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the service, including its features. Got
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a lot of great comments from viewers.
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You can check out that video after this
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one. Number four is the future of
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YouTube TV's base plan. And with all
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this talk about skinny bundles, I got a
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comment from someone who was worried
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about the main bundle going away. I
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understand the concern, but it's just
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not happening. YouTube TV says so in its
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blog post, but it doesn't mention
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anything about the price, and I'd expect
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the main plan to increase by five, maybe
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$10 pretty soon. And these new plans
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will have a range of prices depending on
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the content mix. That brings me to
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number five. Watch for the ripple
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effects. I'll be following this closely
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because YouTube TV's new plans are a
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response to more flexible bundles
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offered by its competitors like all
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these from Direct TV. So, as the new
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options roll out, I would expect a
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reaction from Direct TV, Fubo, and
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others in the space. It could even lead
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to better limited time promotions in the
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short term as everybody adjusts their
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strategy. Count on me to track it for
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you here and on michaels.com.
