Are you looking to cut the cords and start streaming on your television? YouTube TV might be the right option for you. Let’s find out if this new “kid on the block” is worth your while.
In today’s world of Netflix and Hulu, people are moving away from traditional cable companies that limit your viewing to the television it is connected to.
Instead, broadcasting companies are making their channels available over the internet so they can be viewed on a plethora of different devices and be available on the go.
They do this by making their channels available on platforms that support live television and broadcasting.
YouTube TV is essentially one of those platforms with much more. Below we will discuss what this newcomer is all about, what it has to offer its viewers and what it’s lacking.
If you’re thinking of signing up for this $64.99 a month subscription (at the time of this writing), keep reading to find out if it’s right for you:
What is YouTube TV?
YouTube TV is an internet-based streaming media platform that offers its viewers access to live and on-demand TV (Sports, Shows, News etc) as well as DVR (Digital Video Recording) from several television networks.
YouTube falls under the giant umbrella of Google, and first started offering these services in 2017. Back then, it only offered the YouTube TV services to five major US cities: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco.
In 2019, the platform extended these services to the rest of the US television market. By this time, the platform offered most major television networks, including ABC, BBC, NBC, PBS, Disney Channel, CBS, ViacomCBS Channels etc just to name a few of the 85+ total networks and channels.
YouTube TV goes a step further than your regular streaming service by offering their cloud-based DVR. This means that you can record and store unlimited television for up to nine months! The cloud-based model means you are not limited by space, but just an extremely reasonable time-frame.
YouTube TV aims to replace traditional cable or satellite companies rather than streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime etc.
As time passes, YouTube TV keeps extending its list of channels as well as the devices you can enjoy the services on.
So far it is compatible with smart TVs, streaming media players like Chromecast and Apple TV, Xbox gaming consoles, smartphones and tablets, Android devices etc.
YouTube TV lets you watch on three devices at one time, and allows for six different accounts on a single service.
Pros of YouTube TV
YouTube TV has many pros like the fact that you can sign up for this service and have everything in one place; there are no hidden charges, just one simple plan for a flat fee.
YouTube TV offers all of its channels on your choice of devices, which means you can start watching on your smart TV, carry on on your tablet and if you’re leaving the house, your Smartphone will pick up where you left off!
Google has gone to great lengths to make sure this platform stands out from the crowd. The streaming on YouTube TV is virtually flawless. Buffering time is next to none, especially if you have an internet speed of 13 Mbps or faster even for HD videos.
The lineup of channels that the platform offers is fantastic. They offer more than 85 different channels that include local broadcasting, most of the major networks and an array of sports channels.
Plus, your entire family can enjoy what YouTube has to offer. The platform lets you sign up for up to six accounts under one subscription, where three screens can be working at one time.
A fun and unique feature that YouTube TV offers if you have Google Home is that it functions with voice control. You can pick your channels, a specific show and control playback; all using just your voice!
A great feature that you don’t find in other streaming services is the free and unlimited DVR (Digital Video Recording) storage on the cloud.
This means that you can record and store your favorite shows, movies etc on the cloud with a retention period of up to 9 months. With DVR, you can fast forward, rewind, pause etc.
The user interface is similar to the well known youtube environment. Since most people on earth have already visited and used Youtube, then Youtube TV will be a very familiar interface to navigate.
And finally, just like YouTube videos, YouTube TV offers picture-in-picture mode for Android users. That means you can watch a mini version of your show as you continue to do whatever else you want on the phone.
Cons of YouTube TV
There aren’t many cons of YouTube TV. Google has really tried to ensure that they are offering the best platform possible for their customers.
However, every good thing has its shortcomings. YouTube TV is offered at $64.99/month, which is higher than many of its competitors; it’s not the most budget-friendly option out there! And with that price point, unfortunately, they don’t offer the plethora of movies and video series options like Netflix for example.
In June, 2020, Youtube increased their price from $50 to $64.99 per month. That was a 30% price increase but at the same time, they added 8 new channels including ViacomCBS.
Another drawback of YouTube TV is that it does not offer the option of offline viewing. Even their DVR is cloud-based, so if you want to watch your shows while travelling or without using mobile data on the go, YouTube TV is not for you.
Moreover, there are some shortcomings and limitations in their sports content. For example, there are viewing restrictions in some sports events which are enforced by license restrictions from their partners and sports leagues. These restrictions are based on your location etc.
Lastly, YouTube TV does not offer any upgrades that allow for more accounts to be added or more screens to view on simultaneously.
This means the six accounts and three screens are all you get. Though these number are sufficient for most families, it’s always good to have the option to get more if you need them.
All in all, YouTube TV is a very good platform offering a lot of features that its competitors do not. So, if the platform’s list of channels works for you, we highly recommend signing up for the service!
Summary of the most important Pros and Cons
| PROS | CONS |
| Unlimited cloud DVR storage for 9 months | More expensive than other streaming services |
| Simple and fair pricing | Some Viewing restrictions on sports events (depending on location etc) |
| Lots of TV networks | No full sports coverage |
| Great video experience and quality | No offline viewing |
| Up to 6 accounts with one subscription | No 4K content |
Youtube TV Channel List
Youtube TV continuously adds more and more channel options. Here are currently the most important and popular channels on Youtube TV:
| ABC | Discovery | MLB Network | SEC ESPN Network |
| CBS | Disney | MSNBC | SNY |
| FOX Network | Disney Junior | Motortrend | Smithsonian Channel |
| NBC | Disney XD | MTV | StartTV |
| ABC News | E! | MyNetworkTV | SundanceTV |
| ACCN | ESPN | NBA TV | SyFy |
| AMC | ESPN 2 | NBC News Now | TBS |
| Adult Swim | ESPN U | NBC Sports | TCM |
| Animal Planet | ESPNEWS | NBC Universo | TLC |
| BBC | FOX Business | NBCSN | TNT |
| BBC World News | FOX News Channel | NBCLX | TYT |
| BET | FS1 | NECN | Tastemade |
| BTN | FS2 | NatGeo Wild | Telemundo |
| Bravo | FX | National Geographic | The CW |
| CBS Sports | FXM | Newsy | Travel Channel |
| CNBC | FXX | NFL Network | TruTV |
| CNBC World | Food Network | Nickelodeon | TV Land |
| CNN | Freeform | Olympics Channel | USA |
| Cartoon Network | Golf Channel | OWN | Universal Kids |
| Cheddar | HGTV | Oxygen | VH1 |
| CMT | HLN | Paramount Network | WE TV |
| Comedy Central | IFC | PBS | WGN America |
| Comet TV | Investigation Discovery | PBS Kids | YouTube Originals |
| Court TV | LAFC | POP |
Supported Devices and Smart TVs
Basically you can watch Youtube TV on most modern media and streaming devices nowadays. Let’s see some examples:
- Samsung smart TVs (newer than 2016)
- LG smart TVs (newer than 2016)
- Android TV
- Select Vizio SmartCast models
- Select Sony Smart TV models
- Select Sharp Smart TV Models
- Select Hisense Smart TV Models
- Google Chromecast
- Roku Players & TVs
- Apple TV (4th generation & 4K)
- Fire TV Sticks
- Fire TV Cube
Youtube TV Resolution
Digital TV resolution is a metric which shows the quality of the picture and movies streamed from the media service. The maximum resolution of Youtube TV is 1080p which is Full HD quality.
Does Youtube TV offer 4K content
Unfortunately Youtube TV does not currently offer 4K content at the time of this writing. However, the supported 1080p offers adequate picture and movie quality. Since newer TVs nowadays are 4K capable, this is a drawback in my opinion.
What Internet Connection Speed Do you Need?
Each Youtube TV streaming session requires 13 Mbps bandwidth. However, keep in mind that the service allows up to 3 devices simultaneously, so if you have 3 people in your house streaming at the same time, the total connection needed will be 3×13 Mbps.
Youtube TV vs Cable TV
Here are some main differences between Youtube TV and Cable television:
- Price of Cable is much higher.
- With Youtube you can watch TV on your computer using your browser while you do other things on the computer at the same time.
- All channels on Youtube TV are High Definition. On Cable you will get also lower quality Standard Definition channels.
- With Cable TV you are fixed to watching only on the specific TV set connected to the cable TV box. With Youtube TV you can watch TV anywhere with Internet connection and on any device (smart TV, laptop, tablet etc).
- With Youtube TV you get also unlimited Cloud DVR (Digital Video Recording) for saving your favorite shows for watching later.
- Cable TV service usually has many more channels compared to YTTV.
- With Cable TV you have a more traditional and unified “channel-based’ menu with numbers on each channel etc. You won’t have channel numbers on YTTV.
- With YTTV you will need a fast and stable Internet connection.
Is Youtube Premium Included in Youtube TV?
The short answer is no. Youtube Premium and Youtube TV are two different paid subscription services.
Youtube premium service is $11.99 per month and basically allows you to watch the regular Youtube videos without any ads. Moreover, it allows to download regular Youtube videos for offline viewing and bundles Youtube music premium.
All of these are a totally different service compared to Youtube TV and they are not included together.
Sounds good. What if you have a problem with the platform,who do you speak too about problem issues. Do you have a help desk with a live rep. To answer trouble shooting problems?
They have a support page here if you want to have a look: https://support.google.com/youtubetv/?hl=en#topic=7071745
Thanks
I have had a horrible experience. They dropped fox regional so I bought nba pkg to watch local team. Yet they block it out. And I’ll pay $100 to anyone who can find me a phone number to talk to a realtor person.
Could you send me a list of all channels
Article needs to be update. You can watch online, anywhere. Comedy Central is offered. For HBO, Showtime, etc they all have their own apps. Very simple to get. Roku is great for streaming options
Cons :
1. Picture Quality is 720P at best, it’s awful
2. I have seen the picture on 1080P, 4K and 8K Tvs and the picture quality is poor
3. The audio is ONLY in PCM2.0 not Dolby Digital 5.1 , this means that only in 2.0 hearing the dialogue is very difficult.
Does not save your place when playing back a show on the dvr and need to finish later. So if not watching all at one time you have to start from the beginning next time and fast forward to where you left off. Also, many movies and shows saved to the dvr don’t allow you to ffwd commercials.
YouTube TV sucks the root! The interface is clunky as all get out so you have to keep switching to different apps since YouTube TV does not have a majority of the shows you want to actually watch. Plus, by the time you add all the extras you end up paying 84 bucks a month & the ads are set up so you CANNOT fast forward through them. At least with satellite TV I could just record the shows and fast forward through all the commercials. Definitely HUGE disappointment, Guess it’s back to Dish or Direct TV.
Steve, thanks a lot for stopping by and leaving your feedback.
Have a great day.
Harris
This is not working for me!!! I live 30 minutes from Concord NH – the CAPITAL! – and You Tube TV is insisting that I am under the Burlington VT area. 2 HOURS AWAY!! I do not care about NY weather, sports, or news. I could not even see my governor’s inaugural speech or or get the latest COVID information. This is wrong!
Fix this!
Laurel, I wish I could fix this. I’m not running Youtube
My tv is a 2014 Samsung Smart tv.can I use youtube streaming service on this
I had YouTube tv for a few months. The worse thing I disliked is that the TV guide only showed about one day. A YouTube rep said that I could call them to find out when a show is on. Most stupid response I have heard. The look back feature had problems.
If Hulu ever fixed their their audio synching issues I may use them again.
Cynthia, according to their page here https://tv.youtube.com/learn/devices/ , you will need to have a 2016+ Samsung TV model,
Harris
The websites says it takes 13MBPS to use you tube TV. I checked other locations, and they say at least 3 Mbps, up to 5Mbps. I need to know exactly, because the most I can get where we live is 5Mbps!
Thanks for any info anyone can give!
Shawna, here is the official youtube requirement for Internet speed:
https://support.google.com/youtubetv/answer/7129766?hl=en
With 5Mbps you will be able to watch standard definition video quality and there must be no one else in the house using the Internet at that time.
I am ready to sign up PROVIDED that I can receive the the broadcast of the Astro’s baseball games. I am a Texas resident, and this is a must.
I’m ready to dump utube tv as well but what are alternatives?
The taping is a joke, the schedule sucks.
I have added some movies to my library. Once a movie records, and my kids watch it, it appears as “watched” and is unable to be watched again, the options are “rent or buy” or wait for another showing of the movie to record again. Am I doing something wrong?
wtf , why cant you have fox sports sw ?
You need to do some side by side video comparisons between a youtubetv channel and the same channel on cable or over the air. There is a significant deteriation on youtubetv. This is not caused by their steaming format standard of 720P or 1080P but is caused by not enough bandwidth being sent. I have fiber to the home with a minimum of 300mb/s both up and down. This can only mean they are the ones not using enough bandwidth to support the channels. I watch CNBC every morning and the crawl that is used suffers from breakup because of bandwidth starvation. The biggest issue with me and why I am putting them on pause for a few months is no Bally regional sports. It is definately a deal breaker. I cannot watch the Pistons, Tigers or Redwings on their service. I will keep the service on pause until they bring that channel back. I will try out ATT during the interim. YouTubeTV also needs to provide a live person for issues like billing, technical help and complaints. It is impossible to talk to a live person and resolve technical or billing problems.
Mike, thanks so much for your feedback.
Comments like yours will help many people when deciding which streaming service to subscribe to.
Harris
I’m at my fiancé house a lot. Can I have YouTube tv in two locations permanently?
Yes, you can have Youtube TV if you have internet connection. However, they have some limitations in some sports events etc which depend on the location.
I find not being able to watch my Spurs games even when they are playing at home upsetting! Why dont we have FSSW???? Pay a pretty penny and cant even watch a basketball game….smh..
YouTubeTV started out sounding like a great idea for us but by the time we actually got signed up, they had increased the cost and dropped NESN, the Boston sports station that carries the Bruins and Red Sox games. Now, we just received notice that they’re severing their relationship with ROKU. So now we have to either go out and buy a newer TV or buy one of Google’s Chromecast devices. Add all of that to the price increase and you’ve got something that started out sounding real good that turned sour fast.
Hey Bill, thanks for your feedback. Your comments are valuable for the whole community.
In short…added You Tube Tv (via Roku) in March 2019 for $30/month. Loved getting local sports from RSN’s and only the channels most watched…not the throw-in for false value channels. By year end 2019, price increased to $50/month. Added more channels no one cares about. Less than a year later, price increased again to $65/month and they took local sports RSN’s way. And Now I understand they are about to cut off access via Roku. Bottom line…sky rocketing price increases, gutting the service of the the value added local sports channels …replacing them with Viacom garbage…and limiting how you can access the service. Good Bye, You Tube TV.
If our daughter has an account already w/YouTube Tv. Can we sign up under her account, but are billed directly to us and have use of three TVs? We all currently have ROKU, so would that be carried forward to us, when we sign up now after the April 2021 deadline? tks
Gary, why don’t you use the same account as your daughter’s? You don’t need to create another account.
I have older tvs, 2 have roku. How am I to watch if they truly are eliminating roku? My install is scheduled today 1-3pm eastern time Boston area.
Ummm… about most tv are not 4k….that us not true…if anyone has bought a tv in the past year or so, it will be 4k. We have one. And about 4k content not available…that is also no longer true….we watch 4k her content every night! Netflix and Prime has plenty of 4k content now
We recently got YouTube TV for one reason: Xfinity gives us the 03121 error every other day. We call. They “fix” it. It shows up again a couple of days later. That’s been happening since the beginning of this year. Can’t imagine continuing to pay >$300/month for crappy, error-filled TV. We’ve had ~ 5 techs come out to the house, and they all claim that the issue is “fixed”. Wrong. We’re hoping to drop Xfinity like a hot potato once we feel comfortable with YouTube TV. So far so good.
Hey Larry, thanks for your feedback. Sorry to hear that about Xfinity. I hope Youtube will be much more reliable.
7/16/2021
I’m not sure if this site has been updated. I’m leaving Spectrum Cable because of an addition $58.00 being charge per month.
I texted U-Tube Support and learned their basic package supports 3 users at $64.99 + tax after their 90 day promotion. For an additional $19.99 + tax U-Tube is offering unlimited streams from multiple devices.
I’m not sure if they have fixed their audio problems or their local professional sports access. We live in the Toledo, Ohio metro area and want access to Cleveland and Detroit pro sports. I’m not sure if this is possible. They do offer the Big Ten Network and all the the ESPN channels we currently have. I’m more than satisfied with the many programs offered and the price.
I’m not sure if they have fixed their audio and other programming issues shared. I will check on ROKU connectivity and see if this is no longer an issue.
Hey Fred.
Thanks for your comments and feedback. Really appreciated.
This article should say that it’s a paid advertisement. It’s pathetic that in the cons section you completely ran cover for YouTube… “most TVs aren’t 4k anyway”. Um yeah dude but you’re wrong, like all new TVs are 4k. Do you think anybody wants to go backwards when supposedly “upgrading” from cable or a different streaming service? Hell no. Oh, and 8 crappy CBS channels are worth a 30% monthly price increase? GTFO with that bullshit. You can already get those channels for less. Oh, and I don’t think that 9 months of unlimited cloud storage is that great. Who wants to get their stuff deleted? Not I and not after YouTube decides. This article was probably written by a YouTube employee and it’s super transparent.
Bob, thanks for your comment.
No, the article is not a paid advertisement. It is written by me and is my own opinion of the service.
I fully accept though any other opinion and yours is much appreciated.
Thanks
Harris
Does watching a movie offer the option of fast forwarding through commercials?
David, according to the official Youtube TV site here (https://support.google.com/youtubetv/answer/7126139?hl=en#zippy=) you can’t fast-forward through commercial ads (either on Live TV or on Video-on-demand).
If you are considering switching from hululive to YouTube tv,don’t. Unless you really love looking at a lot of commercials. They even take zen breaks on top of commercials. Crazy amount of commercials .Hulu live was much better, more user friendly
Easier to navigate. Not compatible with t-mobile internet, had to switch.
Diane, thanks for your comment and feedback.
It’s now aug 29. Any update on the roku issue? I’m considering turning off spectrum due to the cost. I live in Alabama and must get espn and the SEC network. The menu says youtube has that. I’m considering turning it on and checking it out after college football starts next weekend. Ut I’ll not turn off spectrum until I know I can watch Bama all season long. This roku thing is a dealbreaker. No roku…no youtube tv. Any update on that?
Been a DISH customer for over 25 years at my main residence. Recently bought a 2nd residence 500 miles away. DISH can’t provide me service at 2nd place unless it’s a new account or I use DishAnywhere which rarely works for me. Thinking about switching to YouTube TV. I don’t watch a lot of channels – maybe 6 or 7. Never sports. Mainly news and locals and occasionally something on METV or FETV. Do you think YouTubeTV is worth it? I’m paying $140 now for DISH. DO you know if more channels will be added to the YTTV lineup or if they will get foreign channels or programming? Lastly can I access YTTV when traveling in Europe ? Thanks !
I think nothing has changed regarding Roku and Youtube TV (https://9to5google.com/2021/08/06/roku-exec-youtube-tv-earnings-call-update/)
Andrew, I’m not a Youtube Rep. so I don’t know all the answers to your questions.
Regarding watching YTTV when traveling to Europe, this can work only by using a VPN service.
A VPN connects you through a server inside USA so for YTTV it looks like you are located in USA instead of Europe and therefore they don’t block you.
I hope I helped a little.
Can other accounts within one subscription see anothers DVD storage or viewing history?
I signed up yesterday with YouTube TV, and was hopeful that it would be a good alternative to cable tv. The experience of trying to watch a college football game was comically, ludicrously bad, so bad it was surreal.
First of all, YTTV is energetically monetized–the number and duration of ads is staggering. But wait! when they cut away from the game to the ads, should one expect to continue with the game when the ads are finished? I did, fool that I am. Instead–and this is the surreal part–YT began an endless loop of the same ad sequence (all self referential, hawking their own products!!) and any attempt to get back to the program resulted in the ads beginning again. So it was sometimes turn the tv off (a new smart Samsung), or go back and back and back until you find that YTTV had switched me to a version of a football streaming app, but the one that only plays ads. The ads would continue to play while the live action continued. Eventually the game was found again, but the same thing happened at the next commercial break.
Then the broadcast itself terminated altogether, saying there had been “policy violations.” By whom? Not by me–from one of their providers? Why should that be my problem?
Conclusion: I would stay as far away as possible from YouTube TV even if it were a free service. If it were not so frustrating to use, and ugly to see corporate greed so nakedly at work, and so painful to see the path of media’s evolution, it would be funny. But it’s not funny at all. In the end, I think the word “ugly” is the best, so cluttered with audio and visual junk, so dishonest. I’ll stop watching all TV before I would ever think of using YouTube TV again. Now the question: will I actually be able to cancel my subscription, or will I have to enter again into their sleazy carnival tent to take back my credit card?
I’m having an issue with two local channels stuck showing a speech of President Bush on 9/11 anniversary. It’s now a day later and it’s still stuck showing it. I’ve tried turning off the fire stick and turning it back on. It doesn’t help. Help!
requires internet and Suddenlink limits time and charges for overuse. $190.00 A MONTH.
Is any other internet available in arkansas?
I watch a lot of television and I have found YouTube TV much easier to navigate and record and back up to watch something I missed. If I have a problem, I am 73 years old and I have a hard time seeing the station identification Logos hard to recognize.
I’ve got a BIG Con for you: I moved to a different area and although they SAY you can update your area to get the correct local channels, none of their so-called directions to do this actually work. AND although I have sent them THREE emails about it, they DO NOT respond. So I live in the Eastern Shore Maryland viewing area and I’m stuck with sucky Philadelphia and New Jersey local channels. To the effect that this LONG time YouTube TV subscriber is going to drop their asses like a cold potato and go with someone who will give me the correct local channels. Pisses me off.
And I know you don’t work for YouTube TV. I just thought I’d let others know about this crappy part of their service.
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for your feedback.
I always welcome and appreciate honest comments and feedback from people who use the service, so thanks again.
Harris
Does anyone know how to access what you’ve recorded, AND, how to access individual channels since there is no Guide? I’m on second day of Trial ~ paid for one year, so trust I can cancel since I can’t find anything! Also I’ve used ROKU since it was BORN, so will cancel now if they intend to drop it.
Many thanks for assistance…
i watch youtube videos on my laptop or iphone by typing in a subject or the title of a piece of music.
what type of service is this called. it is not you tube TV.
thank you
This is regular Youtube. You just watch Youtube music videos. This is not Youtube TV.
Harris
Just switched to YouTube tv from Google tv. Getting used to it. BIG disappointment is when watching movies you cant fast forward the commercials. The commercials go on forever. A 2 hour movie has almost an extra hour of commercials. It is impossible to watch. If I can’t figure out a way around this I will have to change to something else. Any suggestions?
Tom that is a common complain from many people. Unfortunately you can’t skip the commercials. Some people record the show on DVR and then play it back from DVR and use fast-forward on that (haven’t tried it personally though).
Have switched to YouTube tv from my cable provider and upgraded my internet to unlimited data to do this. The more I watch this the more issues I see.
First..I am not always sure that when I watch a show, that I am watching the latest season and episode!
Second..If I save the show I am watching to my Library it puts all(?) the seasons there so they say….NOPE! When I look at the seasons saved I notice that the most recent season(s) are not there. What I see is Season 1, 2,5,8 etc… very frustrating!.
Third..If I save to the Library(this is what they call their Cloud Based DVR) and then come back to watch the show It will not allow me to fast forward through commercials. additionally I often get a screen that says what show I am watching and music plays along with a scrolling message that says “commercial break” for approx. 2-3 minutes VERY ANNOYING
There are more issues that I am noticing but I will stop here because I think I’m running out of space. As a result of these issues I will be dropping YouTube TV in favor of some other streaming service.
It is awkward & takes a long time to review all the channels. Does YTTV have a way to improve my search? Can you group favorite channels, etc.?
Neill, use your web browser on a computer and log in to YTTV. You have more customization options via the web browser instead of the TV.
Unlike most services, YouTube TV doesn’t have hidden costs or unexpected add-ons. You get what you see, with an easy-to-use-and-understand interface, the ability to add shows to your library, and the option to have those shows DVR’d.