YouTube TV — Is It the Best TV Streaming Service for You?

The estimated reading time for this post is 10 minutes

TV streaming services have been gaining in popularity for people who want to save money and/or have more convenient TV watching experiences. YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, and AT&T Now may lower your bills and let you watch live TV, recorded shows, and On-Demand programs from anywhere you have an Internet connection.

I’ve been trying YouTube TV for about six weeks now and am impressed with the many benefits it offers. In 2018, I tried Directv Now (currently called AT&T Now) but didn’t like that, at that time, you couldn’t pause live TV shows, nor record more than 20 hours of programs. After my trial period was over, I canceled Directv Now.

See => Directv Now — Is It the Best TV Streaming Service for You?

YouTube TV doesn’t have the disadvantages that were deal-breakers for me with Directv Now. I’m planning on sticking with YouTube TV.

About YouTubeTV

YouTube TV is a TV streaming service with about 85 broadcast, cable, and sports channels. You can try YouTube TV free for one week, then the cost is $64.99 per month. Also included in a YouTube TV subscription are YouTube Originals and trending YouTube videos.

Pros and Cons of YouTube TV

While YouTube TV is working well for me and my family, your TV-watching needs may differ. Here are the pros and cons of YouTube TV:

Unlimited DVR Space

The feature that made YouTube TV most appealing for me is unlimited DVR space. Really unlimited.

Record whatever you want to watch and without worrying that your DVR space is filling up. If you’ve ever been forced to choose which shows to delete from your DVR because you were running out of space (and potentially incurred the wrath of a family member by deleting their beloved shows), you’ll appreciate having unlimited DVR space with YouTube TV.

Record episodes of all of your favorite shows, or shows that may become your favorites. Fill up your DVR Library with shows that you may or may not watch. You can also record an unlimited amount of shows that stream at the same time.

Unlimited = freedom to record anything and everything you want to watch.

Shows are kept in your Library for nine months, after which they’re deleted. You can’t delete a recording, nor save it beyond nine months, though older episodes of shows are often available On-Demand.

Watch from Anywhere on Many Devices

Another advantage of YouTube TV (as well as other streaming TV services) is that you can watch TV from anywhere you have an Internet connection. Watch on your phone or tablet using the YouTube TV app, on your computer using Chrome or Firefox browsers, or on your TV using a streaming box such as Roku or AppleTV, or on Smart TVs. YouTube TV is also available on gaming devices such as Xbox One and PlayStation.

You can watch shows when away from home, but local channels may not be available if you travel outside your local viewing area.

Also, YouTube TV does not let you download shows for viewing offline. So you must have an Internet connection to watch YouTube TV.

You can find a full list of compatible devices on the YouTube TV Supported Devices page.

Customized Channel Guides

Another very helpful feature of YouTube TV is the ability to customize your channel guide so your favorite channels are at the top and easily accessible. You can rearrange channel listings in any order you’d like to make the guide work best for you.

If there are any channels you don’t want to watch, you can delete them from your channel guide.

Six Accounts – Three Simultaneous Streams

YouTube TV lets you share your subscription with up to five other people in your household at no extra cost. Each person can create their own YouTube TV account so they can have their own customized channel guides and recorded shows in their Libraries.

Up to three simultaneous streams are available on one subscription.

Channel Selection

YouTube TV currently includes over 85 channels of broadcast, cable, and sports channels. There aren’t tiers of pricing for different channel packages, it’s one size fits all.

You can also subscribe to premium channels such as HBO Max and Showtime through YouTube TV.

Check out the Available Networks and Locations page for information about included channels and whether your local channels are available on YouTube TV.

As of this writing, YouTube TV channels include:

Sports

• ACC Network
• BTN
• CBS Sports Network
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPNews
• ESPNU
• FS1
• FS2
• Golf Channel
• MLB Network
• NBA TV
• NBCSN
• NFL Network
• Olympic Channel
• SEC Network
• Tennis Channel

News

• ABC News Live
• BBC America
• BBC World News
• Cheddar
• CNBC
• CNBC World
• CNN
• FOX Business
• FOX News
• HLN
• Local Now
• MSNBC
• NBC News Now
• Newsy
• TYT Network

Lifestyle

• AMC
• BET
• Bravo
• CMT
• Comedy Central
• Comet TV
• Cozi
• Discovery Channel
• E!
• Food Network
• FX
• FXM
• FXX
• HGTV
• ID
• IFC
• MotorTrend
• MTV
• Nat Geo
• Nat Geo Wild
• OWN
• Oxygen
• Paramount
• Pop
• Start TV
• SundanceTV
• SYFY
• Tastemade
• TBS
• TLC
• TNT
• Travel Channel
• truTV
• Turner Classic Movies
• TV Land
• Universo
• USA
• VH1
• WE tv

Family

• Animal Planet
• Cartoon Network
• Disney Channel
• Disney Junior
• Disney XD
• Freeform
• Nick@Nite
• Nickelodeon
• Smithsonian Channel
• Universal Kids
• WHYY

Cancel at Any Time

If you want to cancel your YouTube TV subscription you don’t have to wait long. Unlike some cable or satellite providers, YouTube TV doesn’t require you to sign a lengthy contract with early termination fees. You can cancel your YouTube TV subscription at any time. Or you can pause your subscription for up to six months.

Watching Shows

YouTube TV is divided into three sections — Library, Home, and Live.

Library is where your recorded shows are. You can arrange recorded shows by A-Z, Z-A, most recently recorded, most popular, top-rated, or trending.

Unfortunately, you can’t delete shows from your Library, they’re kept for nine months then automatically deleted. Though you can turn off recording future episodes of shows.

If you record a lot of shows, you may have difficulty navigating through episodes you’ve already watched to find ones you haven’t yet watched. A filter for Unwatched Shows in the Library would be helpful.

On-Demand episodes of shows are also found in your Library. If you’re not a fan of On-Demand shows, perhaps because you can’t skip through the commercials, you may be frustrated to find them in your Library.

Home displays live shows YouTube TV predicts you may want to watch with handy preview windows of what’s on-air now. It may suggest sporting events, news programs, or other shows on channels you watch often. Home is a handy place to discover shows you might otherwise have missed.

You can also find shows in the Home section according to genres, such as Sports, Family, News, Reality, and more.

Live is where your custom channel guide is. A useful feature of the guide is that channel listings show preview windows of what’s currently airing.

Navigating YouTube TV

You can pause live TV, then press Play to resume watching where you left off. You can pause watching a show on one device, then start watching again on another device. YouTube TV will ask whether you want to resume watching where you left off or watch live.

After you’ve paused a live show, you can fast-forward through commercials to catch up to the live stream.

The fast-forward and rewind skip buttons move ahead or back only 15 seconds. You may have to hit those buttons a lot to skip through a long stretch of commercials. For example, a show that has a five-minute commercial break would require you to hit that 15-second fast-forward button 20 times. I’d love to see a 30-second skip option instead of 15 seconds.

But you can jump around shows by scrolling to the place you want to watch. As you scroll, a small window appears showing you a preview of what you’d see in the show if you started playing from that point.

Channel Surfing

Channel surfers will enjoy the preview windows in Home and Live that show what’s currently airing on channels.

Heavy channel surfers may have to do some Internet searches to find the best way to switch between channels for the device they’re using to watch YouTube TV. There is no Back or Favorites button, though the custom channel guide makes finding your favorite channels easier.

I wanted to find the easiest way to switch between two YouTube TV channels watching on an Apple TV. When I searched for that information, I couldn’t find the answer, but I did find it for Roku:  Tap the down button three times to show a list of recently watched channels.

So I tried that on the Apple TV and it worked when I tapped the down button twice. But that navigation trick isn’t intuitive (at least not for me) so I wonder what other navigation tricks I’m missing out on.

For YouTube TV viewers using Roku, check out: CNET, 5 tips for YouTube TV to flip live streaming channels like a pro

If you switch between watching on your computer, tablet, phone, and TV, you’ll notice that navigation tricks that work on one device may not work on another.

Recording Shows

You record shows by adding them to your Library, there isn’t a Record button. Search for a show using the Search magnifying glass icon in the top menu on the screen, then use the + plus sign to add the show to your Library.

Unfortunately, you can only record series, you can’t record just one episode from a series. The exception to this is sporting events. You can record an individual sporting event without adding a series to your Library.

You can also use the trick mentioned above, tapping the down button two or three times to display the last channels you watched, to add the show you’re currently watching to your Library. A + plus sign button appears in a menu that lets you add the show you’re currently watching to your Library.

Never Miss the End of a Show

Have you ever missed watching the end of a show because the start of the show was delayed by a game that ran late and the recording didn’t include the entire show? That’s not a problem with YouTube TV.

One very cool feature of YouTube TV is that it figures out when the beginning of a show is delayed and adjusts the start and end times of the scheduled recording. So if your favorite show is delayed by a game that goes into overtime, the recording of your show will be adjusted so you don’t miss out on the ending or have to fast-forward through the end of the game to find the beginning of your show.

Google Home and Chromecast

If you have a Google Home speaker and a Chromecast streaming device, you can use your voice to control YouTube TV. You can speak commands to change channels, find shows, record shows, pause, play, fast-forward, and rewind.

Internet Speed

As with all TV streaming services, YouTube TV uses the Internet. YouTube TV may not be ideal for you if your Internet connection is weak or slow. Videos may lag or shows may be slow to stream.

You may also encounter difficulties if others in your house are streaming Zoom calls or other videos.

YouTube TV does offer the option of reducing the video quality to improve streaming speed. Tap the Settings button (the gear icon), choose Quality from the menu, then select the setting you want. The higher numbers will give a better picture quality but put more strain on your Internet connection.

If your home Internet provider meters your use of the Internet, then you probably shouldn’t consider using a TV streaming service unless you watch few shows or have a generous Internet plan.

Availability

YouTube TV is available throughout the United States. As of this writing, no plans for international expansion have been announced.

You can sign up for a free one-week trial at tv.youtube.com/welcome.

Your Thoughts

Have you been considering switching to a TV streaming service? Do you like the features YouTube TV offers, including unlimited DVR storage? Does YouTube TV offer all the channels you’d like to watch?

Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!