YouTube TV Sports + News Plan channels: price, lineup, and what you lose

YouTube TV's Sports + News Plan costs $71.99 a month for existing subscribers, or $56.99 a month for new sign-ups during their first three months, putting it $11 below the $82.99 main plan, a $132-a-year difference (CableTV.com). The catch: it carries roughly 50 channels, a sharp cut from the main plan's full lineup (CableTV.com).

The plan launched in February as one of YouTube TV's new genre-based tiers, part of what CableTV.com calls the biggest structural change the service has made since it debuted in 2017 (CableTV.com). Google described the rollout at the time as happening "slowly to ensure the best possible experience," warning the plans might not be broadly available for several weeks (PCWorld). That reporting never established when, or whether, every account would get access, so check Settings > Membership on your own profile at tv.youtube.com and click Explore Plans to confirm Sports + News actually shows up before assuming it's live on your account (Google support).

Most of the channel-list detail below comes from CableTV.com's channel-by-channel verification, which the site says it checked in April. That snapshot is the newest confirmed lineup available, but it's already about six months old as of this writing, so cross-check anything that matters to your household against your own account's plan page before switching.

What follows is a breakdown of what's actually in the lineup, what's missing, how the plan stacks up against YouTube TV's other genre tiers and the main plan, and how it compares to DIRECTV and Fubo's sports bundles.

What's included in the YouTube TV Sports + News Plan channel lineup

The lineup covers three buckets: local ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC affiliates; national sports networks including ESPN, ESPN2, FS1/FS2, TBS, TNT, USA, NFL Network, NBA TV, conference networks, and Golf Channel; and national cable news, the piece that separates this tier from the standalone Sports Plan, including CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC, C-SPAN, Bloomberg, and Fox Business (YouTube Blog; Sportico).

Regional sports coverage is narrow. Sportico's reporting on the plan found only NBC's regional sports networks, serving Boston, Philadelphia, California, and the Bay Area, are included, with no other RSNs turning up in the lineup (Sportico). Local affiliate and RSN availability still runs by market, so don't treat this as a guarantee for every ZIP code.

Subscribers can still layer on paid add-ons if the base lineup isn't enough. NFL Sunday Ticket, NFL RedZone through the Sports Plus add-on, HBO Max, and 4K Plus are all available at extra cost on top of the plan (CableTV.com).

The lineup is built around nationally televised sports and mainstream news, not niche or local feeds. CableTV.com frames the plan as a fit for subscribers who want live sports and cable news but have little interest in entertainment or family programming (CableTV.com).

Channels missing from the YouTube TV Sports + News Plan

CableTV.com's April verification lists MLB Network, NHL Network, Tennis Channel, LiveNOW from FOX, ION, and PBS as excluded from the plan (CableTV.com). That's worth flagging because reporting from around the plan's February launch described PBS as included. The later, channel-verified lineup contradicts that, so treat PBS as absent rather than assume the launch-era description still holds, and confirm either way on your own account.

The tier also drops major entertainment and kids networks, including Hallmark, Bravo, Disney Channel, and Nickelodeon (PCWorld).

Non-NBC regional sports networks are absent from the reported lineup, which matters for fans following local MLB, NHL, or NBA teams outside those four NBC markets (Sportico). Whether that gap matters depends on which teams a household follows and whether those broadcasts run through an NBC regional feed or something else entirely.

YouTube TV Sports + News Plan price vs. the main plan and other tiers

PCWorld's rundown of YouTube TV's five announced genre tiers, published earlier this year, lists these monthly prices:

(PCWorld)

These five are only the initial batch. YouTube TV has said it eventually plans more than 10 genre combinations, including mixes like Sports paired with Entertainment but no news (PCWorld).

The jump from Sports to Sports + News costs just $7 more for the entire national cable-news tier. Sports + News + Entertainment adds general entertainment channels for roughly another $6, though it still drops kids programming entirely (PCWorld).

The main plan's own price history explains why a discount tier exists at all. YouTube TV has raised the full plan 28% since 2023 across two separate increases, putting it at more than double its $35-a-month launch price from 2017 (CableTV.com).

Which plan actually fits your viewing habits

The honest answer depends on what's on your must-watch list, not on the sticker price alone (CableTV.com).

• Choose Sports + News if you want the national sports and cable-news channels listed above and don't care about kids or general entertainment programming.
• Drop to the $65 Sports plan if CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC, and the rest of the news lineup aren't something you'd actually watch.
• Step up to Sports + News + Entertainment if you want general entertainment too and have no kids channels to worry about.
• Stay on the main plan, or compare News + Entertainment + Family, if kids programming is a requirement.
• Compare DIRECTV's MySports plan directly if MLB Network, NHL Network, or a non-NBC regional sports network is non-negotiable.

How Sports + News compares to DIRECTV and Fubo

DIRECTV's MySports plan runs $70 a month, $2 cheaper than Sports + News, and includes both MLB Network and NHL Network, two channels missing from YouTube TV's plan (PCWorld; Sportico). DIRECTV also sells a $20-a-month regional-sports add-on in select markets, an option YouTube TV's Sports + News plan doesn't offer beyond its four NBC markets (PCWorld).

Fubo Sports starts at $56 a month for 21 channels, undercutting Sports + News on price, but it skips NBC, TNT, TBS, and regional sports networks entirely (PCWorld).

CableTV.com's 2026 Live TV Streaming Customer Satisfaction Survey, which polled more than 5,000 respondents, gave YouTube TV a 72% score for live-sports satisfaction, compared with 82% for DIRECTV (CableTV.com).

Before you switch

Plan changes only go through a browser. Log into tv.youtube.com on a Mac or PC, click your profile picture, then open Settings, Membership, and Explore Plans to see what your account qualifies for (Google support).

Changes apply right away. A prorated credit covers whatever's left on the old billing cycle, and a fresh 30-day cycle starts for the plan you switch into (Google support).

Check the plan page for any promotional terms tied to your current rate before switching. The support documentation walks through billing mechanics but doesn't spell out what happens to discounted offers, so confirm directly on your account rather than assume anything carries over.

Before making a move: open Settings > Membership > Explore Plans in a desktop browser at tv.youtube.com, compare the account-specific channel list against what you actually watch, and only switch once you know what's on your bill afterward.