Sarah Tew/CNET
E D I T O R S ’ C H O I C E
Nov 2020 Ever since its launch in 2017 , YouTube TV has proven to be one of the best live TV streaming services , with an excellent channel selection and unbeatable user experience.While it has almost doubled in price since, it continues to be a better choice than any of its premium competitors, including Hulu Plus Live TV , FuboTV and AT&T TV (soon to become DirecTV Stream ).
YouTube TV $65 at YouTube TV Like More channels than any competitor, and includes PBS Superb cloud DVR Excellent on-screen interface and handy search bar Don’t Like Costly 4K content not worth $20 right now Roku users need to access via YouTube proper YouTube TV’s main strength for people used to cable is the sheer number of channels.It now offers 78 of the top 100 networks, the most of any streaming service, a count that includes numerous cable staples plus all four local networks — ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC — and local PBS stations in most markets nationwide.It also introduced a 4K streaming upgrade — for an additional $20 monthly — to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics .
Beyond channels, YouTube TV is easy to use, slick and speedy on a variety of TV and mobile devices.
Its cloud DVR is the best in the business, with unlimited storage and pretty much all the capabilities of a hardware DVR such as TiVo .
The big snag is the price.First off, for most people it’s definitely not worth paying the extra $20 for 4K, which has very little content to offer, beyond a few NFL and college football games starting this fall.
For people used to the myriad channels and easy DVR of cable or satellite, however, YouTube TV’s base $65 package is worth the extra expense over an entry-level streaming service.On the other hand if you’re a cord-cutter who wants more savings , we recommend Sling TV Blue at $35 a month.
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What do you get? YouTube TV is different from YouTube , the free video service with more than 2 billion users a month.
YouTube TV offers an experience similar to cable TV, with live channels and on-demand content available on a variety of devices.It works with Apple TV , Roku (sort of), Android TV , Chromecast , Amazon Fire TV along with numerous smart TVs , phones , tablets and web browsers.
The service operates in much the same way as competitors — there’s a program guide, a DVR and dozens of channels.But what really separates YouTube TV from other premium ($60-plus a month) services such as AT&T TV, Hulu Plus Live TV and FuboTV ? Let’s take a look.
Premium services compared
YouTube TV AT&T TV Hulu Plus Live TV FuboTV Base price $65/month $70/month $65/month $65/month Total number of top 100 channels 78 61 73 66 ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC channels Yes Yes Yes Yes Record shows for later (cloud DVR) Yes (keep for 9 months) Yes (20 hours, unlimited hours for $10/month) Yes (50 hours, 200 hours plus commercial skip for $10/month) Yes (250 hours) Step-up packages with more channels No ($20 for 4K, unlimited streams) Yes Yes Yes Simultaneous streams per account 3 20 2 ($10 option for unlimited) 3 YouTube TV’s channel selection is excellent, with more from our list of 100 top channels than any other competitor, though Hulu is catching up.That said, more channels doesn’t necessarily mean more of what you want: Some services such as FuboTV lean heavily on sports while others are increasingly wide-ranging.
It’s best to check the list at the end of this article, which compares individual channels across services, to make sure you’re getting the channels you want.
The Olympics in 4K may have come and gone, but YouTube TV’s $20 4K add-on is here to stay.The 4K Plus upgrade offers a number of benefits including 4K sports, such as college football, plus on-demand content (more on that shortly).The upcharge also increases the number of simultaneous streams to unlimited, which is good for households full of football teams, or something.In contrast, FuboTV includes 4K for no extra charge.
Another couple of changes came with the 4K Plus update including 5.1 surround to all subscribers — most competitors only include stereo sound.The other is that DVR recordings can now be searched for specific sports, which was especially helpful for events like the gigantic grab bag of the Olympics.
The 4K upgrade includes a small selection of shows, but most are over two years old.
Ty Pendlebury/CNET Is it worth the $20 for 4K? In a word, no.There’s simply not enough content right now to justify the upgrade.
At $20 it’s only $2 more than the top tier of Netflix and that offers thousands of hours of 4K content alone.Let me break it down to help illustrate what’s included right now.
According to YouTube TV’s 4K page the content includes shows from Discovery, ESPN, Fox Sports, FX, Nat Geo, NBC Sports and Tastemade.At present this doesn’t constitute enough to stick around for — a dozen three-year-old shows and sometimes just a single episode.
There’s also Thursday Night Football, “live” Premier League soccer, a “selection” of college football on ESPN, plus an upcoming MLB All Star Game on Fox.
To make relevant content easier to find the interface includes a 4K button but you’ll quickly exhaust all 14 selections.The guide does have a 4K sticker on applicable content, but there was nothing offered during our testing bar an upcoming soccer match.The content that’s available, such as the cooking show Make This Tonight and the travel competition show Basic Versus Baller, does look good, with better contrast and color than regular broadcast TV.
The NCAA starts in a week so we’ll update this review after testing the extra content, but at the moment it still looks like FuboTV is the choice if you want football, 4K or a combination of the two.
What’s it like to use? YouTube TV’s user interface is fairly simple.
There are three top-level tabs broken into Library, Home and Live.
Library is where your DVR content lives.Home is where both featured and live thumbnails appear.The Live tab is a familiar-looking program grid which displays currently playing and upcoming shows.
You can search for content from the top of any page, which makes it relatively easy to jump straight to the programming you want.You can also perform searches with a compatible voice remote or Google Assistant .While this is easier if you have an Android TV streamer you can also perform searches on your Google Home and play it on a Roku.
Be aware that Roku and Google are currently in negotiations , and new Roku users will need to access YouTube TV from the YouTube app , which is a little clunky.People who have the YouTube TV app preloaded or using other platforms like Fire TV are unaffected.
You can connect to YouTube to watch related clips.
Ty Pendlebury/CNET The service’s tie-in to YouTube proper is welcome — with YouTube originals included in the TV app — though it could be more tightly integrated, especially on TV devices.For example, a content page appears when you press the Go To button on a show, and a Related on YouTube item appears at the bottom.It would be helpful to have thumbnails of related interviews and trailers appear more prominently on this page without having to delve into menus.
The DVR works well and includes the ability to rewind and fast-forward freely through recordings, even ones that aren’t yet completed.The Roku interface offers a 15-second skip by default while the Apple TV’s control system is even better.
You can use the touch pad to scroll through videos — and it’s glorious! It’s so much fun and the appearance of thumbnails make it relatively easy to get to the part you want.
The DVR enables you to fast-forward and rewind, while Apple TV enables you to scrub through the timeline.
Sarah Tew/CNET In the past, when a show appeared in a network’s on-demand library, it would automatically replace the version in your cloud DVR.That means you’d lose the ability to fast-forward through commercials.YouTube TV says it got rid of that restriction in October 2018, but some CNET readers have complained that it still occurs at times.Additionally, YouTube TV’s DVR is not truly unlimited.The shows will expire after nine months, but this is still a lot longer than the 30 days you get with most rivals.
Streaming may not save you money When it only cost $50 (or less) YouTube TV was very attractive as a way to save money.
Yet as the service has piled on more channels it has also added further costs.So, when you take that $65 monthly fee and apply it to the $50 you’re already paying for internet, it means you’re paying over $110 a month.Many cable TV providers will give you a TV-and-internet bundle for around the same money.
Prices vary a lot, of course, and with cable you probably have to pay rental equipment fees, taxes and other extras.And cable providers usually reserve the best bundle pricing for people who sign a contract.The same goes for new “streaming” offerings such as Comcast’s Infinity Flex .
The reason you want to cut cable in the first place remains.Like Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and others , YouTube TV is contract-free, so you can cancel at any time.Streaming services also have other advantages over cable.They’re easier to watch on phones and tablets, for example.
At $65 per month, however, you’ll have to be coming from a relatively expensive cable bill to realize substantial savings with YouTube TV.
The service comes with a comprehensive program guide.
Sarah Tew/CNET Should you get YouTube TV? If price is no object, YouTube TV is my favorite live streaming service, with a whole swathe of entertainment options and one of the best DVR and search combos on the market.
It offers more channels than anyone else and the inclusion of 5.1 surround is great for sports and movie fans alike.
If you don’t want to be beholden to a traditional cable company it’s a great alternative.
That said, $65 a month could be tough for some people, but without a contract to worry about you are free to jump ship to a better deal at any time.And the extra $20 top is simply a bridge too far for so little 4K content, even if unlimited streams is useful if you have an extended family.
If, on the other hand, you’re a hardcore cord-cutter and determined to save money, Sling TV Blue offers a compelling alternative especially when paired with an antenna or an AirTV 2 .
Below you’ll find a comparison of the top 100 channels offered by a few of YouTube TV’s competitors.For more information and comparisons with additional services, check out the full article .
Yes = The channel is available on the cheapest pricing tier.
No = The channel isn’t available at all on that service.
$ = The channel is available for an extra fee, either a la carte or as part of a more expensive package or add-on.
Not every channel a service carries is listed, just the “top 100” as determined by CNET’s editors.Minor channels such as AXS TV, CNBC World, Discovery Life, GSN, POP and Universal Kids didn’t make the cut.Regional sports networks — channels devoted to showing regular-season games of particular pro baseball, basketball and hockey teams — are not listed.Top 100 Channels Channel Sling Blue ($35) FuboTV ($65) Hulu with Live TV ($65) YouTube TV ($65) AT&T TV ($70) Total channels: 37 66 73 78 61 ABC No Yes Yes Yes Yes CBS No Yes Yes Yes Yes Fox Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes NBC Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes PBS No No No Yes No CW No Yes Yes Yes Yes MyNetworkTV No No Yes Yes Yes Channel Sling Blue ($35) FuboTV ($65) Hulu with Live TV ($65) YouTube TV ($65) AT&T TV ($70) A&E Yes Yes Yes No Yes ACC Network No $ Yes Yes $ Accuweather No Yes No No Yes AMC Yes Yes No Yes Yes Animal Planet No Yes Yes Yes Yes BBC America Yes Yes No Yes Yes BBC World News $ $ No Yes $ BET Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Big Ten Network $ Yes Yes Yes $ Bloomberg TV Yes No Yes No Yes Boomerang $ No Yes No Yes Bravo Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Channel Sling Blue ($35) FuboTV ($65) Hulu with Live TV ($65) YouTube TV ($65) AT&T TV ($70) Cartoon Network Yes No Yes Yes Yes CBS Sports Network No Yes Yes Yes $ Cheddar Yes Yes Yes Yes $ Cinemax No No $ $ $ CMT $ Yes Yes Yes Yes CNBC $ Yes Yes Yes Yes CNN Yes No Yes Yes Yes Comedy Central Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Cooking Channel $ $ $ No $ Destination America $ $ $ No $ Discovery Channel Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Disney Channel No Yes Yes Yes Yes Disney Junior No Yes Yes Yes Yes Disney XD No Yes Yes Yes Yes DIY $ $ $ No $ E! Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes EPIX $ $ No $ $ ESPN No Yes Yes Yes Yes ESPN 2 No Yes Yes Yes Yes ESPNEWS No $ Yes Yes $ ESPNU No $ Yes Yes $ Channel Sling Blue ($35) FuboTV ($65) Hulu with Live TV ($65) YouTube TV ($65) AT&T TV ($70) Food Network Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Fox Business $ Yes Yes Yes Yes Fox News Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Fox Sports 1 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Fox Sports 2 $ Yes Yes Yes $ Freeform No Yes Yes Yes Yes FX Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes FX Movies $ $ Yes Yes $ FXX $ Yes Yes Yes Yes FYI $ Yes Yes No $ Golf Channel $ Yes Yes Yes $ Hallmark $ Yes No No Yes HBO/HBO Max No No $ $ $ HGTV Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes History Yes Yes Yes No Yes HLN Yes No Yes Yes Yes IFC Yes Yes No Yes Yes Investigation Discovery Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Lifetime Yes Yes Yes No Yes Lifetime Movie Network $ Yes Yes No $ Channel Sling Blue ($35) FuboTV ($65) Hulu with Live TV ($65) YouTube TV ($65) AT&T TV ($70) MLB Network $ $ No Yes $ Motor Trend No Yes Yes Yes Yes MSNBC Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes MTV $ Yes Yes Yes Yes MTV2 $ $ $ Yes Yes National Geographic Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Nat Geo Wild $ $ Yes Yes $ NBA TV $ $ No Yes $ NBC Sports Network Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes NFL Network Yes Yes Yes Yes No NFL Red Zone $ $ $ $ No NHL Network $ $ No No $ Nickelodeon No Yes Yes Yes Yes Nick Jr.
Yes Yes Yes Yes $ Nicktoons $ $ $ Yes $ Olympic Channel $ Yes Yes Yes $ OWN No Yes No Yes $ Oxygen $ Yes Yes Yes $ Paramount Network $ Yes Yes Yes Yes Channel Sling Blue ($35) FuboTV ($65) Hulu with Live TV ($65) YouTube TV ($65) AT&T TV ($70) Science $ $ $ No $ SEC Network No $ Yes Yes $ Showtime $ $ $ $ $ Smithsonian No Yes Yes Yes $ Starz $ $ $ $ $ Sundance TV $ Yes No Yes Yes Syfy Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Tastemade $ Yes No Yes $ TBS Yes No Yes Yes Yes TCM $ No Yes Yes Yes Telemundo No Yes Yes Yes $ Tennis Channel $ $ No No $ TLC Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes TNT Yes No Yes Yes Yes Travel Channel Yes Yes Yes Yes $ TruTV Yes No Yes Yes Yes TV Land $ Yes Yes Yes Yes USA Network Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes VH1 $ Yes Yes Yes Yes Vice Yes Yes Yes No Yes WE tv $ Yes No Yes Yes Channel Sling Blue ($35) FuboTV ($65) Hulu with Live TV ($65) YouTube TV ($65) AT&T TV ($70).
