Pros & Cons
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- Excellent lineup of sports, news, and entertainment channels
- Lower-cost, genre-based packages
- Impressive viewing features for sports fans
- Robust and easy-to-use DVR tools
- Intuitive interface
- Excellent add-ons
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- Expensive
- Lacks most SportsNet and all Bally Sports RSNs
YouTube TV Specs
| 4K Live Streams | |
| Ads | |
| Concurrent Streams | 3 or Unlimited (at home) |
| DVR Storage & Retention | Unlimited; 9 Months |
| Live TV | |
| MLB Playoffs Coverage | FOX, FS1, and TBS |
| Monday Night Football | ESPN |
| NBA Finals | ABC |
| On-Demand Movies and TV Shows | |
| Regular Season National NBA Coverage | ABC, ESPN, NBA TV, and TNT |
| Regular Season National NHL Coverage | ABC, ESPN, TBS, and TNT |
| RSN Coverage | NBC Sports |
| Sports Coverage | National & Regional |
| Starting Price | $82.99 per month |
| Sunday Football | CBS and FOX; NFL RedZone (via Add-On) |
| Sunday Night Football | NBC |
| Thursday Night Football | FOX and NFL Network |
| World Series Coverage | FOX |
Some video streaming services primarily feature on-demand or original content, while others are designed to completely replace your cable subscription. YouTube TV takes the latter approach, offering more than 100 channels of news, sports, and entertainment. It also has 4K streaming, excellent DVR features, the ability to download recordings for offline viewing, and unlimited simultaneous streams on your home network. The service offers the best combination of channels and streaming specs of the many I've tested, and its à la carte channel options give you cheaper alternatives to the high monthly base cost. As someone who has fully cut the cord, I find YouTube TV's mix of old-school cable's breadth with modern online streaming convenience very appealing. For all this and more, YouTube TV is an Editors' Choice winner for live TV streaming services.
Plans and Prices: A Variety of Packages and Add-Ons
At $82.99 per month, YouTube TV is one of the most expensive video streaming services (though Hulu + Live TV charges $89.99 per month), but you get a terrific mix of news, sports, and entertainment. For comparison, Sling TV's Orange and Blue plans cost $46 per month (or $61 combined), but their live channel lineups are limited. If you want to keep costs down, Philo charges $33 per month for about 60 channels, though most are in the entertainment genre.
(Credit: YouTube TV/PCMag)As for other live TV streaming services, Fubo starts at $84.99 per month, with pricier plans available depending on your needs. The most expensive is DirecTV, starting at $101.98 per month. It offers more comprehensive channel packages, including regional sports networks (RSNs).
To make its offerings more affordable, YouTube TV sells smaller, cheaper, themed bundles. For example, you can subscribe to the sports package for just $64.99 per month, while the entertainment package costs $54.99 per month. In a nice touch, you can mix and match channels to create your own custom plan at a custom price. You can also subscribe to YouTube TV's $10.99-per-month Sports Plus package, which offers fewer channels, including FOX College Sports, FOX Soccer Plus, GOLTV, MAVTV Motorsports Network, Stadium, NFL RedZone, and TVG. In addition, the YouTube TV Entertainment Plus add-on bundles HBO Max, Paramount+ with Showtime, and Starz for $29.99 per month.
Further blurring the line between cable and online streaming, YouTube TV lets you subscribe to individual channels. The a la carte channels include Cinemax, Curiosity Stream, and Shudder (don't expect giants like ESPN or Fox Sports 1), and you can add or drop channels whenever you want. Prime Video offers similar functionality. YouTube viewers can bypass YouTube TV by subscribing directly to Primetime Channels. Still, a la carte channels are an appreciated and affordable added online flexibility in an otherwise expensive and rigid live TV framework.
Overall, on-demand services are much cheaper but appeal to a different subset of subscribers. Netflix, for example, starts at $8.99 per month (though it has been adding more live broadcasts, including Major League Baseball's Opening Day game). Disney+ is $11.99 per month. Peacock has a robust $7.99 plan. Tubi is free.
YouTube TV is available on the web, mobile platforms (Android and iOS), media streaming devices (Apple TV, Chromecast, and Fire TV), and select smart TVs (such as those from LG, Samsung, and Sony). You can download the YouTube TV app for the newest game consoles, including the PlayStation and Xbox.
YouTube TV lets you create six user accounts, but it limits you to three simultaneous streams. That's typical for the space. The 4K Plus add-on costs $9.99 per month and unlocks unlimited simultaneous streams on your home Wi-Fi network, 4K streams for select live channels and on-demand content, and the ability to watch DVR recordings offline on mobile devices.
What Channels Can You Watch on YouTube TV?
YouTube TV has more than 100 channels, which stacks up well against the competition. In fact, it offers one of the most complete channel lineups of all the video streaming services I've reviewed. Starting with the locals, you get all the major networks: ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and PBS. The news channel selection includes BBC America, CNBC, CNN, FOX News, and MSNBC. That lineup compares favorably with competing services.
(Credit: YouTube TV/PCMag)Apart from the broadcast affiliates, sports channels on YouTube TV include CBS Sports, ESPN, ESPN 2, NFL Network, NBC Sports, and NBA TV. However, YouTube TV's RSN coverage is spotty. It includes all NBC Sports RSNs, but it lacks AT&T-owned RSNs (except SportsNet NY) and every Bally Sports RSN (previously, these were FOX Sports RSNs). The limited RSN coverage has significant implications for your ability to watch regular-season MLB, NBA, and NHL games, so make sure to check which channel airs your local team's games before committing to any sports streaming service.
Out-of-market Sunday afternoon NFL games are also on YouTube through NFL Sunday Ticket. For more NFL coverage, take a look at our roundup of the best NFL streaming services. Fan of the other major sports? Check out our roundups of the best MLB streaming services, the best NBA streaming services, and the best NHL streaming services.
YouTube TV also serves an industry-leading variety of entertainment and lifestyle content. Channels include AMC, Cartoon Network, The CW, FX, National Geographic, TNT, and USA. Additions from the Discovery network include Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, TLC, and Travel Channel. Paramount channels include BET, BET Her, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, MTV2, MTV Classic, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land, VH1, Nick Jr., Nicktoons, and TeenNick.
YouTube TV's content mix is most similar to that of Hulu + Live TV, especially since you get access to some on-demand shows and movies from YouTube TV's channels. Other live TV services may offer a better range of content for specific areas. For example, Fubo matches YouTube TV's sports lineup and differentiates itself with international sports content. Philo is specifically focused on lifestyle and entertainment channels; if that is all you want to watch, you can save money by subscribing to it instead of YouTube TV.
Interface, Search, and Navigation
YouTube TV's interface is, as you might expect, similar to the regular YouTube website. The design looks clean, and most elements are clad in white or light gray. There's even a dark mode you can enable in the settings. In the top right corner, you'll find a robust search tool for finding content to watch by genre or channel, which is especially helpful given YouTube TV's extensive catalog. You can even concatenate searches. For example, my search for "science fiction + 2004" brought up a result for The Chronicles of Riddick, a film released that year.
In the settings panel, you can manage subscription details, billing information, and add-on channel subscriptions. There are also options for setting up family accounts, customizing what appears in the channel guide, and keeping tabs on (or pausing) your watch and search history.
(Credit: YouTube TV/PCMag)You mainly navigate between three top-level tabs: Library, Home, and Live Guide. The Library section organizes everything you've recorded in sections for new content, scheduled recordings, and all recordings. You can sort the last section by content type (shows, movies, sports, and events), alphabetically, by recentness, and by popularity.
The Home section is where you discover content to watch. At the top, YouTube TV shows curated content based on what you have searched for or already watched. As you move down the page, various content categories scroll horizontally.
In the Live Guide section, you can scroll down the list of available channels to see what's currently playing. As mentioned, you can exclude the channels you don't want to see here via the settings menu. To watch something, simply click on the live preview. The guide now lets you see what's available up to seven days in the future, and the layout provides many custom recommendations and information for channels and content. It lets you quickly keep up with the channels you watch the most.
On the Now Playing screen, you get a standard set of playback tools, including 15-second fast-forward and reverse buttons on the right. On the left, you can toggle closed-captioning, select a streaming quality, pick an audio track, and change the playback speed. You can even click the information button for more details about the playing content. For example, clicking this button during an NBA game brought up information on the starting lineups and standings for the teams involved. Scrolling down from there, you can switch between any of the three main content tabs.
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Streaming YouTube TV Content
YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV notably both stream live channels in 1080p/60fps, as does Paramount+ for many of its local CBS network stations. YouTube TV subscribers also get support for Dolby 5.1 surround sound on select devices.
With YouTube TV's 4K Plus add-on, it joins Fubo as the only other live TV streaming service that offers any 4K live streams. As with Fubo, not all live streams will be available in this resolution, but major sports events and live content streams will be available in 4K. The 4K Plus add-on also brings 4K on-demand content to YouTube TV from sources such as FX, Discovery Networks, and Tastemade. Hulu and Fubo also offer on-demand 4K programming.
(Credit: YouTube TV/PCMag)To test YouTube TV's performance, I streamed a Thursday Night Football game on a Windows PC. I didn't encounter any performance lag or stuttering, and the audio kept up with the game's pace. On a mobile device, I streamed an MSNBC news show at 1080p and 60 frames per second (fps), and the performance was good. Note, however, that the streaming resolution varies depending on the source.
Of course, since YouTube TV is a cable-replacement service, you will see the same (and the same number of) ads that you would with a regular cable service. The benefit of YouTube TV, though, is that its DVR functionality lets you fast-forward over ads in your recordings.
Multiview and Stats: Tailor-Made for Sports Fans
YouTube TV's multiview feature lets sports fans watch up to four streams at once on the same screen. A recent update lets you build your own multiview experience by picking custom games, not just YouTube's presets. In addition, it lets you add live news and entertainment channels into the mix. In my tests, YouTube TV bundled March Madness games in multiple multiview groups so I could keep an eye on more than one bracket matchup. Naturally, this picture-in-picture-like feature let me jump to individual games when I wanted a closer look at the action, and did so quickly.
When you stream sports, YouTube TV displays cool sports data, such as key plays, scores, and stats. While watching an NBA Playoffs game, I enjoyed seeing the top scorers at a glance, and clips of monster dunks and dagger threes. You can even connect your fantasy football account (NFL Fantasy or Yahoo Fantasy) and track stats via YouTube TV's Fantasy View.
DVR Features and Accessibility
YouTube TV's DVR features compare favorably with the competition. For example, there is no DVR storage limit; as long as you are connected to the internet, you can add as many shows and movies to your library as you desire. Furthermore, recordings are saved for nine months. And with the 4K Plus add-on, you can download recordings for offline viewing. No other live TV service I've reviewed offers this feature. You can pause, rewind, and forward through any recordings, as well as jump to specific segments within a recording, too; for example, to a discussion of a particular topic in a news recording.
For comparison, Fubo and Hulu both let you record unlimited hours of content. Sling TV lets you record up to 50 hours of content for free. With all those services, you can keep your recordings for as long as you maintain a subscription.
To initiate a DVR recording, simply hit the plus button beneath any playing show or from the channel guide. To remove content from your library, click the Expand button and then the Remove button. I appreciate the ability to set up DVR recordings for specific sports teams. For example, when I clicked the Expand button for an NFL game, it let me add both teams to my library. YouTube TV then records upcoming games of those teams as they air.
All the channels I watched offered closed captioning, which is standard for most services. It lagged slightly behind the video stream in testing, but the subtitles seemed mostly accurate. YouTube TV includes a few options for customizing the subtitle text, including the font, font color, and background opacity, but notably, it's missing an option to change the text position.
YouTube TV's closed captioning isn't as robust as Netflix's or Prime Video's. When I enabled that feature on those services, scenes and actions were accompanied by descriptions of audible and visual events, such as when the phone rang or a character exited the room.
YouTube TV lets you enable a filter that limits the service to TV-Y, TV-Y7, and TV-G shows and G and PG films. However, you must set this preference on every device rather than at a profile level. Sling TV, on the other hand, lets you restrict content based on individual show and movie ratings and lock those settings with a PIN.
For more on streaming, check out five reasons to ditch your video subscription and keep cable (especially if you're interested in live TV). Learn how to pick streaming services that fit your budget, and enjoy all sorts of reality show trash. Finally, check out our recommended streaming video guides if you don’t know what to watch. The Best YouTube Channels is an article worth exploring for no-cost entertainment.
(Credit: YouTube TV/PCMag)The Android and iOS Apps: Watching YouTube TV on the Go
I downloaded YouTube TV on an Android device (an iOS version is available, too) and had no trouble signing into my account. The mobile app looks and works similarly to the desktop interface, which is a good thing. The interface has clean lines, attractive colors, and clear tabs to separate content. A dark mode is now available on mobile, too. YouTube TV's excellent search and library organization tools are also present.
You navigate via the same three tabs: Library, Home, and Live. On the Now Playing screen, you can enable closed captioning, change the streaming quality, or toggle notifications for the program. You can also view the programming set to air next and other recommended content.
The YouTube TV app supports picture-in-picture (PIP), so you can keep the currently playing content visible while the app is minimized. During testing, I dragged the window across my device screen, and it sat on top of the active window.
Can You Watch YouTube TV With a VPN?
A VPN can help you secure your privacy online and spoof your location. However, many video streaming services may block you from using a VPN since some content is subject to licensing rules or other geographic restrictions. YouTube TV is only available in the US, and the channels available depend on your location.
For reference, I tested YouTube TV with TunnelBear's free version and encountered connection issues. Even if you find a VPN that works with one video streaming service, it is less likely to work with all the ones you subscribe to. Video streaming compatibility should not be the main reason you use a VPN, though. Instead, choose the VPN that best protects your online presence.
Final Thoughts
(Credit: YouTube)
YouTube TV
Even as its price continues to rise, YouTube TV remains a top option for cord-cutters thanks to its live TV streams, excellent DVR tools, and terrific sports features.