When you think of streaming video, you probably think of YouTube. As a result, YouTube TV is one of the most popular live TV streaming services in the United States, owned by Alphabet (formerly Google). It gives you access to cable channels and sports networks, as well as DVR and account sharing, and it works on a variety of devices. It even has its own programming.
Here’s everything you need to know about it, including how much it costs and whether it’s worthwhile to spend your money on it.
What is YouTube TV?
YouTube TV is a live TV streaming service available in the United States. When it first launched in 2017, YouTube TV was limited to a small number of locations in the United States. That changed in 2019, when a significant expansion added support for all 210 markets. It has also greatly expanded its channel collection over the years. YouTube TV now has over 85 channels, including four major national broadcasters: ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. (As with all streaming services, what’s available where you live may vary slightly.)
It also provides unlimited DVR storage, up to six accounts for a single fee, and the ability to watch on all of your devices (like your phone, tablet, computer, or TV) YouTube Originals and trending YouTube videos are also available on YouTube TV. With Live TV, it competes directly with Sling TV and Hulu. It’s a replacement for cable or satellite service that’s streamed over the Internet, and it’s available on phones, tablets, TVs, and web browsers, allowing you to watch TV pretty much the same way you always have, from anywhere you have an internet connection, at home or on the go.
YouTube TV, despite its name, is not a part of YouTube; Google operates them as separate entities. However, there are some areas where the two overlap, such as with YouTube Originals, which essentially means you’ll see a few shows on both platforms. Nonetheless, YouTube TV is not the same as YouTube, and you’ll need two apps on your streaming device to access both.
YouTube TV competes in the same arena as other streaming television services such as DirecTV Stream (formerly known as AT&T TV Now and DirecTV Now), Sling TV, FuboTV, and Hulu With Live TV. It is designed for those who want to cut the cord and ditch their cable or satellite subscriptions (and is known in the industry as a multichannel video programing distributor, or MVPD).
YouTube TV pricing and other deals
The current monthly charge for YouTube TV is $65 USD and with tax, it brings the total to around $72 per month.
That’s not to say you’ll ever pay that much for YouTube TV. It has a number of optional add-ons that give you even more shows, movies, and sports to watch — for a fee, of course. The ability to watch some shows and sports in 4K on YouTube TV is a new big one.
The following are the optional YouTube TV add-ons:
- 4K Plus: ($20 per month after a one-month trial; $9.99 for the first year for early adopters): Launched in June 2021, 4K Plus allows you to watch some YouTube TV content in 4K resolution. That mostly means on-demand shows and series like What We Do In The Shadows, Struggle Meals, American Titans, Snowfall, and others. But it really shines when it comes to live sports from networks like ESPN and NBC. 4K Plus also includes the ability to watch recorded shows offline and on as many devices as you want on your home network.
- HBO Max: ($15 per month): New HBO Max Originals and included networks, plus all of your favourite legacy HBO content.
- NBA League Pass: ($40 per month): A seven-day free trial is included.
- Sports Plus ($11 a month)NFL RedZone, BeIN Sports, Fox Soccer Plus, Stadium College Sports, VSiN, Outside TV+, PokerGO+, MAVTV, TVG, Stadium, GOLTV, Billiard TV, Sports Grid, and PlayersTV are all included with a seven-day free trial.
- HBO Max, Showtime, and STARZ are all included in Entertainment Plus ($30 per month).
- MLB.TV ($27 per season): All out-of-market games are included.
- Showtime ($11 per month): Premium movies and television shows. It includes a 14-day free trial.
- STARZ ($9/month): Premium movies and TV shows.
- Hallmark Movies Now ($6 per month): All of your favourite Hallmark movies and series. It includes a seven-day free trial.
- Cinemax ($10/month): Premium movies and TV shows. It includes a seven-day free trial.
- EPIX ($6 per month): Premium movies and TV shows. It includes a seven-day free trial.
- STARZ+EPIX ($12 per month): Both add-ons will save you $3 per month.
- CuriosityStream ($3 per month): Science-related programming. It includes a 14-day free trial.
List Of channels offered by YouTube TV
In general, YouTube TV has a competitive slate of channels — both linear and nonlinear (that is, not what you might find on traditional cable TV) — as any other comparable offering. That mostly refers to Hulu With Live TV, the only other streaming service with roughly the same number of subscribers as YouTube TV.
As always, the devil is in the details. If YouTube TV has the channel you’re looking for, great! If it doesn’t, you’ll have to look elsewhere. That’s fine; that’s how competition works.
As of April 2022, the following channels are available as part of the main YouTube TV plan:
ABC (broadcast), ABC News Live, ACC Network, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, BBC World News, Bet, Bet Her, Big 10 Network, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CBS (broadcast), CBS Sports Network, Cheddar News, CMT, CNBC, CNN, Comedy Central, Comedy.TV, Comet, Court TV, Cozi, DABL, Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, E!, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, Get TV, Golf Channel, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. HGTV, HLN, IFC, Investigation Discovery, and JusticeCentral are among the channels available. NBC (broadcast), NBC News Now, NBCLX, NBCSN, NewsNation, NFL Network, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Olympic Channel, OWN, Oxygen, Paramount Network, PBS, POP, QVC Start TV, Sundance TV, SYFY, Tastemade, TBS, TeenNick, Telemundo, The Weather Channel, The Young Turks Network, TLC, TNT, Travel Channel, TruTV, Turner Classic Movies, TV Land, UniMas, Universal Kids, Universo, Univision, USA, VH-1, WeTV.
What devices can you use to watch YouTube TV?
One line answer is that if you have a relatively modern phone, tablet, TV, or computer, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to watch YouTube TV. However, many of us still prefer to watch television from the comfort of our couches.
YouTube TV has you covered there as well.
The following TV devices are supported by the streaming service:
- Apple TV (4th generation) and Apple TV 4K
- Amazon Fire TV products
- Chromecast with Google TV devices
- Android TV (Note: TVs running a mobile version of Android may not be supported)
- Vizio SmartCast TVs
- Samsung & LG smart TVs (2016 models and newer)
- HiSense TVs
- Xbox: Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One X, Xbox One S, and Xbox One
- PS5 and PS4
- TiVo Stream 4K
- Roku
If you’re into the connected home, you can also watch YouTube TV on the Google Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max.
YouTube TV with 4K
One of the coolest aspects of YouTube TV is that it is one of the most user-friendly streaming services. And it should be, given that it comes from the same people who run the world’s largest streaming video service. (That would be YouTube.)
You have complete control over everything, including the streaming resolution. While you should leave things on Auto 99 percent of the time, you can change the streaming resolution if you want. This also makes it simple to see what’s available in 720p or 1080p. It’ll be the former most of the time, especially if it’s live sports at 60 frames per second. However, we are seeing an increase in 1080p video, which is a good thing.
YouTube TV is also one of the first live streaming services in the US to provide some live content in 4K resolution. (The other option is FuboTV.) Events from ESPN, Fox Sports, and NBC Sports are available in real time. There’s also some on-demand content available in 4K resolution. 4K streams are available from Discovery, FX, Nat Geo, and Tastemade.
Overall, YouTube TV’s video quality is comparable to that of other live streaming services. You may experience lower resolution for a few seconds before the buffer fills up and reaches maximum capacity. And it all depends on the strength of your home network, the speed of your Internet service provider, and how YouTube TV and its content providers offer the show, movie, or sport in the first place. There are numerous moving parts here. It’s also worth noting that 4K streaming isn’t supported by every piece of hardware. However, it will be available on Chromecast with Google TV, 4K-capable Roku devices, the 2021 model of Apple TV 4K (the 2017 model will see improved resolution but not full 4K), Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, NVIDIA Shield, and 4K Android TV smart TVs as of now.
YouTube TV Top Features
The main feature of a streaming service like YouTube TV is the ability to watch the same TV channels you’ve always watched. But it is far from the only one. You can also watch shows and movies at your leisure. You can get personalized recommendations, which is far more enjoyable than channel surfing. And that’s just the beginning — YouTube TV can use Google Assistant and do some crazy things.
Here are some of the best YouTube TV features you should definitely take advantage of.
Infinite Recordings are offered by YouTube TV
“Cloud DVR” stands out among the features baked into YouTube TV. Not just because it exists; almost every service has the ability to “record” a show or movie and play it back whenever you want. However, most other services charge an additional fee for their Cloud DVR service, or at the very least for additional storage.
Google, on the other hand, provides unlimited free recordings. You can keep your recordings for up to 9 months if you keep your subscription. That includes shows, movies, live sports, and other events. YouTube TV is astute in this regard. Most recordings last 1 minute longer than expected. Sporting events are automatically recorded for an additional 30 minutes — and YouTube TV can even detect if things are going to run longer and extend things from there.
It’s also a true recording, which means the ads are recorded exactly as they were presented live — and you can skip right past them if you want.
Access YouTube Tv with multiple users and devices
YouTube TV is also one of the most adaptable options available. By default, you can watch YouTube TV on up to three devices at once.
If you purchase the 4K Plus add-on, you will also receive unlimited streams while connected to your home network.
YouTube TV also supports up to six user profiles per account. This is significant because it influences show and movie recommendations. So you won’t have to see your children’s recommendations, and they won’t have to see yours. YouTube TV is linked to your Google account, and the profiles will be accessible to up to five additional family members, as specified in your Google account.
YouTube TV On-demand
Many of the channels included with a YouTube TV subscription allow you to watch their shows on-demand after they first air. It can be a convenient way to catch up on older episodes or seasons that aired before you began recording them with the DVR feature. The difference between this and DVR is that you cannot skip commercials.
Roku and YouTube TV
Roku and Google have agreed to a multi-year extension for both YouTube and YouTube TV, according to a statement from Roku. “This agreement represents a positive development for our shared customers, as it makes YouTube and YouTube TV available to all Roku platform streamers.” The agreement’s terms were not disclosed.
Voice command
If you own a Google Home speaker, such as the Google Nest Mini, and use a Chromecast device to watch YouTube TV, you can enjoy the following feature: You can control functions such as selecting a TV channel to watch live, starting specific shows, recording a show, or using playback functions such as pause, resume, and rewind with just your voice. Here’s how to do it.
Mobile picture-in-picture
One of the best features of mobile video apps is the ability to watch in picture-in-picture mode. You can continue to watch YouTube TV in a minimized window while working on something else in the foreground if you’re using an Android or iOS device. It truly is game-changing.
Jump
This feature allows you to jump to different segments within specific news programs on YouTube TV. Similar to key plays in sports, some programs allow you to jump to specific news clips within the entire recording. This feature is currently available on TV apps and will be available on mobile devices soon.
Dark mode
Desktop and mobile YouTube TV users can select a darker theme to reduce eye strain.
Mark as watched
On desktop and mobile devices, select Mark as Watched for any TV show you’ve already seen.
Easy to unsubscribe from YouTube TV
YouTube TV, like all other streaming services, is easy to discontinue. Simply navigate to your YouTube TV account on the web at tv.youtube.com. Go to Settings, Membership, Manage, and then Cancel membership.
However, your access to YouTube TV will not be terminated immediately. You will continue to have access to YouTube TV on all devices and the web until the end of your billing period. If you reach that point and your payment does not renew, you will lose access to all live TV streaming services.
You will lose all of your recorded programs if you do not pay your account within 21 days.
Is there advertising on YouTube TV?
Yes, many of the networks are ad-supported. You cannot fast forward through advertisements while watching live TV, as you can with traditional television. However, if you pause a show, you can fast-forward until you reach the live version. Note: On this Google Support page, you can learn more about ads on YouTube TV.
How to Subscribe to YouTube TV account?
It’s simple: To begin, navigate to the YouTube TV sign-up page in your browser and click the “Try it free” button.
Wrapping Up
YouTube TV is a good value for those looking for a total cable substitute, costing $65 per month for over 85 live TV channels. YouTube TV makes a compelling case for being your go-to cord-cutting tool.
YouTube is popular among cord cutters due to its extensive channel selection. You’ll have to go through the entire list of supported channels in your area to see if it has what you’re looking for. If so, YouTube TV may be all you need. If your favorite network isn’t on the list or isn’t available as an add-on, you might want to look into FuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, or AT&T TV Now.
Simply use a web browser to register on your desktop computer. If you sign up on an Apple or Android device, you may miss out on the trial option due to a mobile glitch. We’re not sure if Google did it on purpose, but web browsers are a reliable way to begin your free trial.
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