Google said it will no longer claim that YouTube TV is “$600 less than cable” in its advertising, after an industry ad-review board found the assertion was potentially misleading.
The YouTube TV pricing claim, which had appeared in two of Google’s ads for the service, had been challenged by Charter Communications in a fast-track complaint submitted to the BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division. In August 2023, the NAD recommended that Google discontinue the “$600 less than cable” claim; Google appealed that to the National Advertising Review Board (NARB) — which upheld the NAD’s recommendation.
In a statement released Wednesday, Google said it “disagrees with NARB’s determination that people watching the challenged commercials will somehow understand ‘cable’ to mean something other than traditional cable television.” At the same time, the company said it “intends to modify or cease the disputed advertising claim.” Google added that it “may reconsider the claim based on updated information.”
The YouTube TV spots that made the “$600 less than cable” claim included a disclosure identifying “comparable standalone cable” as the basis of comparison. The price calculation underlying the challenged claim included the cost of two set-top boxes per household for “standalone cable” services. The NARB panel determined that the commercial disclosures were not clear and conspicuous. In addition, in agreement with NAD, the NARB panel concluded that at least one reasonable interpretation of the challenged claim is that YouTube TV is $600 less than any comparable service available from companies traditionally associated with cable services.
Per the findings of the ad-review boards, customers can subscribe to a basic tier of Charter’s Spectrum TV service without renting cable boxes and thus Google failed to justify including the cost of two set-top boxes in its price comparison. Moreover, in certain markets, Charter and other cable providers offer regional sports networks (RSNs) but YouTube TV does not; therefore, according to the ad-review bodies, Google did not have a valid reason for factoring in the cost of Spectrum’s Sports View option ($7/month extra for most plans) to the price comparison.
In the spring of 2023, YouTube TV’s baseline monthly subscription fee went up by 12.3%, as the internet pay-TV package increased from $64.99 to $72.99 per month.
The decisions issued by the NARB and NAD are not legally binding. As self-regulatory industry organizations, they don’t have the power to issue fines or other sanctions. However, according to the NAD, if an advertiser refuses to participate or comply with its recommendations, NAD will refer the matter to the appropriate regulatory agency, which is typically the Federal Trade Commission.
