NAD Says YouTube TV Should Drop ‘$600 Less Than Cable’ Ad

The National Advertising Division sided with Charter Communications, saying YouTube should stop claiming it is “$600 less than cable.”

The NAD investigated YTTV’s ad in response to a complaint by Charter. Ultimately, the NAD found that it was very difficult to make a direct price comparison between the streaming service and traditional cable company’s, and that YTTV should drop the ad claim:

The price calculation underlying the challenged claim includes the cost of two set-top boxes per household for “standalone cable” services. NAD found, however, that this comparison is not a good fit for the challenged claim comparing YouTube TV’s pricing to “cable” generally since cable providers like Charter offer streaming options that may not require a set-top box.

In the context of the “cable” comparison, NAD found the claim reasonably conveys the cost of YouTube TV is compared to all cable services.

Further, NAD noted that in this dynamic and competitive market it may be difficult to identify “comparable” offerings. However, in several markets cable providers offer regional sports networks but YouTube TV does not. NAD determined that it is reasonable for consumers to believe that YouTube TV offers at least the same channels as cable for viewing basketball.

For these reasons, NAD recommended that Google discontinue the claim that its YouTube TV services are “$600 less than cable.” NAD noted, however, that nothing in its decision precludes Google from making other truthful and non-misleading claims comparing the price of YouTube TV with the pricing of services offered by any cable provider.

Google has already announced its intention to appeal the decision, saying it “unequivocally disagrees” with it and “believes that consumers broadly understand the difference between traditional cable and streaming and that they do not interpret ‘cable’ or ‘standalone cable’ offered via a ‘cable box’ as encompassing streaming services, regardless of who provides them.”