‘It’s absurd’: YouTube TV subscribers slam its new sports subscription plan, despite its tempting price tag

• YouTube TV is rolling out over 10 new genre-specific plans, including designated tiers for sports and entertainment fans
• The new plans are rolling out this week, and aim to give users more control over what they want to stream
• However, ESPN Unlimited won't be available until fall 2026, which has rubbed sports fans the wrong way

The days of YouTube TV’s singular subscription plan are over, and the company is finally rolling out new genre-specific packages from this week after teasing the upgrade a few weeks back.

Since its inception in 2017, YouTube TV has offered its members only one ‘all-or-nothing’ subscription plan, which includes over 100 networks across a multitude of channels and genres, for a costly fee of $82.99 a month. The new 10+ content plans are designed to give customers “more control over their subscriptions”, the platform said in its announcement.

When the new tiers roll out, you’ll be able to select genre-specific bundles based on the content you want to stream, saving you a little bit of cash each month instead of paying for channels you never get around to viewing – and there are plenty to choose from.

The new Sports Plan ($64.99 per month) is designed for the biggest sports fans out there, bundling the most popular sports broadcasters into one package including FS1, NBC Sports Network and more. There’s also the new Sports + News Plan ($71.99 per month), which gives you access to all the regular sports channels as well as news networks such as CNBC, Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN.

Don’t worry, YouTube hasn’t forgotten about movie and TV fans. Now, you’ll have the option to stream nothing but the best movies and shows through the Entertainment Plan ($54.99 per month), the new home of FX, Hallmark, Comedy Central, Bravo, Paramount, Food Network, and similar channels. Just like the Sports + News bundle, the News + Entertainment + Family Plan ($69.99 per month) combines entertainment with news, as well as featuring family-friendly viewing.

How it’s taken YouTube this long to expand its subscription offerings is beyond me, but hey, at least it’s happening, and it will welcome more flexibility for subscribers. But with launches like this, there’s always a setback, and sports fans are pretty disappointed with the absence of ESPN Unlimited.

“Dealbreaker without ESPN unlimited access”

YouTube TV won’t get ESPN Unlimited until Fall 2026 from r/youtubetv

YouTube TV is one of the best streaming services for sports viewing, and thanks to product features like multiview, sports fans can view multiple games across different channels at once. As for the new Sports Plan, its array of broadcasters hasn't changed – except for ESPN Unlimited, which won’t become available for at least another six months.

Comment from r/youtubetv

Why is YouTube holding back the one channel that sports fans love the most? Well, the company hasn’t stated why it’s not yet available in the Sports Plan. It hasn’t received the best reaction let’s just say, and it’s got members coming up with their own theories, one involving Disney.

Comment from r/youtubetv

Following the dramatic dispute between YouTube and Disney in October last year, failed carriage agreements resulted in 20 Disney-owned networks being removed from YouTube TV, but were later reinstated after a new deal was agreed. Some YouTube TV subscribers are convinced that the platform would never delay a network integration for this long, pinning the blame on Disney’s part, but some users believe otherwise.

Other users on Reddit have been quick to compare YouTube’s selection of Disney subsidiaries with DIRECTV, another channel distributor service that offers access to Disney-owned networks.

One user in particular pointed out that following DIRECTV and Disney’s renewed agreement back in September 2024, it took 11 months before users regained access to Disney channels hinting that the delay comes down to technical difficulties, and not Disney dragging it out – but it's still unknown.

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