YouTube TV to cancel subscriptions in March paid through App Store - The UpStream

YouTube TV to cancel subscriptions in March paid through App Store

posted Sunday Feb 16, 2020 by Scott Ertz

YouTube TV to cancel subscriptions in March paid through App Store

Over the past few years, we've seen a growing discontentment with the policies of the unified application stores for mobile devices. Fortnite publisher Epic Games famously skipped Google Play for their game on Android. Netflix has led a similar campaign but aimed at subscriptions instead of app distribution. Because Apple requires any app offering a subscription to process through the App Store, Netflix does not allow users to subscribe from within the app. YouTube TV seems to be following their lead.

Starting in March 2020, YouTube TV subscriptions that were purchased through the App Store will be canceled. If you have your subscription canceled, the company will direct you to the website to re-up your account. If you have an active subscription through the website, you'll still be able to use the full service on your Apple devices. Current subscribers received an email stating,

You're currently subscribed to YouTube TV through Apple in-app purchases, so we're writing to let you know that, starting March 13th, 2020, YouTube TV will no longer accept payment through Apple in-app purchases. You'll be billed for one final month of service and then your in-app purchase subscription will be canceled automatically on your billing date after March 13th, 2020.

This policy has been growing in support because of Apple's tyrannical control over the App Store and everything that is distributed through it. Because no other stores are possible on the iPhone or iPad, Apple has a monopoly that they are more than happy to exploit.

The 30 percent Apple Tax, or the cut that Apple takes from every transaction in the App Store, has made it difficult to operate subscription services. To make matters worse, it means that the companies have to have more than one payment processing system, making the account management process more expensive, as well. It also means that support representatives have a more difficult time, making the user experience worse.

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