• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, August 22, 2023

An industry self-regulatory watchdog is recommending that Google stop claiming in ads that YouTube TV costs $600 a year less than cable.

In an opinion made public on Tuesday, the BBB National Programs National Advertising Division said claims regarding the cost of “cable” should refer to the cost of comparable services offered by a cable provider.

The group also suggested that the word “cable” may be too general to use in ads, given the variety of ways that people can watch video. 

“As technology evolves and consumers have more options for accessing television programming, consumers’ understanding of what 'cable' is may shift and it may become necessary for advertisers to use more precision when referring to 'cable,'” the group wrote.

Google said it plans to appeal to the National Advertising Review Board.

The opinion comes in response to a challenge to two ads for YouTube TV that ran on television and included the boast “More than cable. For $600 less than cable.”

Charter contended the $600 figure was inaccurate, arguing that its Spectrum TV Select service in Los Angeles only cost around $219 a year more than Google's YouTube TV service.

Google countered that the $600 figure came from a SmithGeiger study of the cost of comparable stand-alone cable -- including fees for two cable boxes and a digital video recorder box rental -- in the top 50 Nielsen designated market areas.

The National Advertising Division sided with Spectrum, writing that a “generic reference to the term ‘cable’ can be understood to mean the cable provider.”

“Accordingly, advertisers must be able to substantiate its comparison as against the leading cable provider available in a consumer’s area,” the group wrote. “For example, if the only cable provider in Los Angeles is Charter, then any comparative claim made about in Los Angeles must be with respect to Charter’s pricing.”

Google said it disagreed with the watchdog's interpretation, arguing that consumers “broadly understand the difference between traditional cable and streaming,” and don't interpret cable to encompass streaming services -- even if those services are provided by a cable company.