YouTube TV is a live TV streaming service and offers a similar experience to DirecTV Stream, Fubo, Hulu Live TV and Sling TV. While YouTube TV first launched in 2017, the service only became available nationwide in 2019. Over the years since, YouTube TV has become an extremely popular service and now provides live TV to more than eight million subscribers.
How much is YouTube TV?
A YouTube TV subscription currently costs $72.99 a month. Although there are cheaper live TV services available, YouTube TV is comparable in price to the cheapest plans from DirecTV Stream, Fubo and Hulu Live TV.
YouTube TV also routinely offers limited-time deals and promotions that can reduce the cost of a subscription for a select number of months.
Does YouTube TV offer A Free Trial?
Yes, YouTube TV typically offers a 7-day free trial to all new subscribers. However, the live TV service routinely offers longer free trials throughout the year for a limited time, with three weeks typically the longest available.
YouTube TV has gone through its fair share of price increases over the years, and as there are no price locks or guarantees, those considering signing up should be aware that the price may increase in the future.
It is also worth noting that the price stated is just for the base package. The total cost a home pays could be much higher, depending on the premium networks and add-ons they bundle on top.
$73/mo
- 100+ channels
- 3 streams
- Unlimited DVR
Deal: $65/mo for first 4 months
channels you get with YouTube TV
YouTube TV currently provides access to more than 100 live TV channels covering news, entertainment, sports and more.
Entertainment: AMC, All Reality, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, Bravo, Bounce, Charge!, Comedy Central, Comedy.TV, Comet TV, CourtTV, Cozi TV, Dabl, Discovery, Docurama, Dove, E!, FX, FXM, FXX, Food Network, Freeform, getTV, Game Show Network, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Family, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, HSN, IFC, Investigation Discovery, ION, JusticeCentral.TV, Law & Crime, Magnolia Network, Motortrend, NBCLX, NatGeo Wild, National Geographic, OWN, Oxygen, Oxygen True Crime, Paramount Network, PC Mag, POP, QVC, Recipe.TV, Smithsonian Channel, StartTV, Stories by AMC, SundanceTV, SyFy, TBD, TBS, TCM, TLC, TNT, Tastemade, The Great Courses, Travel Channel, TruTV, TV Land, USA, The Walking Dead Universe, WE TV.
News, Locals and Weather: ABC, ABC News, BBC, BBC News, CBS, Cheddar, Cheddar News, The CW, FOX Business, FOX, FOX News Channel, FOX Weather, HLN, LiveNOW from Fox, Local Now, Localish, MSNBC, MyNetworkTV, NBC, NBC News Now, NewsNation, PBS, Scripps News, TYT, The Weather Channel.
Sports: ACCN, BTN, CBS Sports, CNBC, CNBC World, CNN, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN U, ESPNEWS, FS1, FS2, Golf Channel, LAFC, NBA TV, NECN, NFL Network, Orlando City, SEC ESPN Network, T2.
Kids: Cartoon Network, Disney, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr, Nicktoons, PBS Kids, Teen Nick, Universal Kids.
Music: BET, BET Her, CMT, FOX SOUL, MTV, MTV2, MTV Classic, Telehit, VH1.
International: Galavisión, NBC Universo, Telemundo, UniMás, Univision,
YouTube TV also offers a standalone Spanish Plan that unlocks access to a variety of Spanish networks for $34.99 a month.
- 30+ Spanish networks
- Unlimited DVR
- Premium features
- Share with family
YouTube TV Base Plan Add-Ons
In addition to the channels bundled with the base plan, YouTube TV also offers a selection of premium networks that can be added to a subscription.
Entertainment: Acorn TV, ALLBLK, AMC+, Cinemax, Classica, Comedy Dynamics, CONtv, CuriosityStream, Dekkoo, Docurama, Dove, Fandor, Fox Nation, Gaia, The Great Courses, Hallmark Movies Now, Here TV, Hi-YAH!, Hopster Learning, IFC Films Unlimited, Law & Crime, Magellan TV, Magnolia Selects, Max, MHz Choice, MGM+, MovieSphere, Outside Features, Paramount+ with Showtime, Qello Concerts, Screambox, ScreenPix, Shudder, Starz, Stingray DJazz, Sundance Now, Tastemade+, UP Faith & Family
Sports: MyOutdoorTV, NBA League Pass, NFL Sunday Ticket, NFL Sunday Ticket + NFL RedZone, PokerGO, VSiN, WNBA League Pass
International: atresplayer, RCN Total, Spanish Plus, ViX Premium, Zee Family
YouTube TV also offers a 4K Plus add-on. Unlike the other add-ons, this $9.99/month upgrade unlocks access to additional premium features.
- 4K on select content
- Unlimited simultaneous streams
- Watch recordings offline
There is also a small selection of channel packs that add a number of similar channels for one price, including Entertainment Plus, Spanish Plus and Sports Plus.
YouTube TV Supported devices
YouTube TV is available to stream on a wide variety of platforms and devices, including smart TVs, streaming players, smartphones and more.
- Amazon Fire TV players, TVs
- Android phones, tablets
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Google Nest Hub, Hub Max
- Google TV
- Hisense Smart TVs
- iPhone, iPad
- LG smart TVs
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PS4 Pro
- Roku Players, TVs
- Samsung smart TVs
- Sharp Smart TVs
- Sony Smart TVs
- Vizio smart TVs
- Xbox Series X, Series S, One, One S, One X
For those without a compatible device, YouTube TV’s supported device list is not final and it is possible more devices will be added at a later time. It also possible to access and watch content directly through the YouTube TV website using a device with a supported web browser.
YouTube TV Features
YouTube TV is a premium live TV streaming service and offers a number of features that add additional value to a subscription.
Account Sharing
Although YouTube TV does place some restrictions on how and where the service can be accessed, YouTube does allow a single subscription to be shared with up to five other people (six including the account holder). Each person gets access to their own YouTube TV experience, with personalized recommendations and settings.
Unlimited Cloud DVR
One of the main features of YouTube TV is the unlimited cloud DVR. Subscribers are not only able to record as much content as they want, but each profile gets access to its own personalized DVR. This removes any issues of having to manage or navigate recordings made by others.
Multiview
When it comes to live sports, Multiview is a major selling point with YouTube TV, as it opens up the option to watch up to four different live feeds on the one screen at the same time. While not every sport and live stream is available in Multiview mode, subscribers do have the ability to pick and choose the streams they want to watch.
Key Plays And Stats
Along with Multiview, YouTube TV also offers some additional sports-related features. Key Plays View allows subscribers to catch up on a game’s best moments and Stats View makes it possible to view real-time insights. There’s also a Fantasy Football View, which offers the option to link an NFL.com fantasy account and check how you’re stacking up in your fantasy league while watching a live game.
the downside of YouTube TV
The main downside of YouTube TV is the cost. At $72.99 a month, it is one of the more expensive live TV services around, and the price will be even higher if adding additional features, such as 4K support, or expanding the selection of channels.
YouTube TV is a premium service and that’s reflected in the price, so it might not the best option for those specifically wanting an affordable live TV service.
Price aside, YouTube TV is not a perfect live TV service and some subscribers may encounter other downsides as well. For example, the inability to manually delete recordings from the DVR library is annoying, and home network limitations can make it harder to watch away from home or share the subscription with others.
YouTube TV Checklist
Is It The Right Live TV Service For You?
Is YouTube TV worth It?
Yes, YouTube TV is worth it in our opinion. This is one of the best live TV streaming services in terms of channels and features, resulting in a rich and premium live TV streaming experience.
As long as an individual is willing to pay the higher monthly cost, they are unlikely to find a better live TV streaming service than YouTube TV. If the price is a little too high then there are other services to consider, including Sling TV and Philo.
YouTube TV Review
