By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –@tvanswerman

TV Answer Man, I signed up for YouTube TV so I could get the $100 discount on the NFL Sunday Ticket. I was planning to pause my subscription so I wouldn’t have to pay the monthly YouTube TV bill until the season started. But when I did, it said I could lose my discounts. Can you check this out? — Mark, Little Rock, Arkansas. 

Mark, as you know, Google’s $100 discount on the NFL Sunday Ticket expires after today. YouTube TV subscribers can get the base Ticket for $249. But tomorrow, the base price for YouTube TV subs jumps to $349 and the bundle price (with the RedZone) rises from $289 to $389.

Since the Ticket’s price starts at $349 via YouTube Primetime Channels (and $449 after today), many fans have contemplated subscribing to YouTube TV to get the lower rate. But the $72.99 a month sub price is a real obstacle, particularly since you have to pay that until the NFL season is over. You need an active YouTube TV account to watch the Ticket if you ordered it through the live streaming service.

But the TV Answer Man discovered a way around this little trap. YouTube TV allows a subscriber to pause his or her subscription for up to six months with the suspension starting at the end of the current billing cycle. That means you could subscribe to YouTube TV today, add the Sunday Ticket $249 discounted plan to your sub, and then pause your sub until September. That would save you from paying the full $72.99 at least for the month of August.

However, I have received a few e-mails from readers suggesting that YouTube TV has changed its policy on pausing subscriptions, including whether you would still get the $100 discount. When they tried to pause the sub, there was a line at the bottom of a pop-up screen that said, “You’ll lose current offers and discounts if you pause or cancel.”

There is nothing at the YouTube TV web site that says you will lose the $100 discount if you pause your sub. So I asked YouTube TV’s support team this morning if you would be charged $100 if you do suspend your subscription. The support team said no. Your $249 rate for the Ticket will stay in effect when you reactivate your account. The ‘you will lose your discount’ language is in reference to YouTube TV’s promotional rate of $64.99 a month for the first three months. If you subscribe today, you would get that rate for the first three months. But if you pause immediately, you would not get it when you reactivate later.

In addition, the time limit on pausing has not changed. It’s still four weeks to six months.

Mark, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!

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Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.

— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman