National Advertising Review Board recommends Google cease misleading YouTube TV ad

Misleading YouTube TV ad overview: 

• Who: The National Advertising Review Board has issued a recommendation to Google over advertising for its YouTube TV subscription streaming service. 
• Why: The review board recommended Google stop running an ad that states YouTube TV is “$600 less than cable,” after finding the statement misled consumers into thinking the price savings would be true for any comparable cable service. 
• Where: Google advertises its YouTube TV service to consumers nationwide. 

The National Advertising Review Board (NARB) has recommended Google stop running advertising claiming the subscription streaming service YouTube TV is “$600 less than cable.” 

The NARB determined Google’s advertisement could mislead consumers into believing the price savings would be true for any comparable cable service, and that disclosures it used for how it calculated the figure were neither clear nor conspicuous. 

The recommendation comes after the advertisement was successfully challenged by Charter Communications Inc., following an expedited review of the claims by the National Advertising Division (NAD). 

The NARB, the appellate advertising body of the review board used to govern the advertising industry in the U.S., said it was in agreement with the NAD’s finding that Google used an unfair method to calculate its “$600 less” claim. 

Google calculated its $600 figure in an unfair manner, NARB says

Google, according to the NARB, disclosed that included in the cost of the $600 figure was the cost of setting up two set-top boxes per household for “standalone cable” services. 

The NARB, meanwhile, agreed with findings that this calculation was misleading, arguing that many households can subscribe to a basic cable package with Spectrum — the trade name of Charter Communications — without renting a cable box. 

The review board also determined Google did not have a valid reason to add in the cost of Spectrum’s Sport View option into its price comparison, since YouTube does not offer regional sports networks, unlike cable providers in certain markets. 

Google, in a statement, said that it “disagrees with NARB’s determination that people watching the challenged commercials will somehow understand ‘cable’ to mean something other than traditional cable television,” according to the NARB. 

The company did, however, say it intends to “modify or cease the disputed advertising claim,” and that it may “reconsider” the claim at a later date “based on updated information.” 

In other news involving YouTube TV, Google agreed to pay $2.2 billion last year to get exclusive residential rights to broadcast the National Football League’s NFL Sunday Ticket game package on the streaming service. 

Do you feel misled by Google’s YouTube TV advertising? Let us know in the comments.

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