Google said it will cease making advertising claims that its $73-a-month YouTube TV virtual pay TV service is “$600 cheaper than cable” on an annual basis, after losing its appeal to an advertising review board complaint.
In August, the the BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division said it sided with a complaint filed by Charter Communications, which questioned the claim's validity. And on Wednesday, the group announced that it had rejected Google’s subsequent appeal.
The NARB said that Google’s price calculations — which accounted for two leased proprietary cable set-tops — were based on obsolete linear pay-TV models.
“The NARB panel determined that the commercial disclosures were not clear and conspicuous,” the group added, noting that many of Charter’s Spectrum video customers no longer even use proprietary set-top boxes.
Next TV actually kicked the tires on these YouTube TV claims independently in May 2022, back when Google was claiming the vMVPD was “$750 cheaper than cable.”
In the fine print, Google said it based the claim on a 2022 study by SmithGeiger, evaluating “comparable services over 24 months, including hidden fees, promotion pricing, DVR box rental and service fee, and second cable box for the home, if applicable.”
