YouTube enters a suddenly crowded competition for cable cord cutters.
The wait for a YouTube live TV streaming service is over. The video giant announced “YouTube TV,” an over-the-top (OTT) service that will house live broadcast and cable channels.
At $35, YouTube TV is right around the average price for the bundle it’s offering. DirecTV Now recently pulled its $35 introductory bundle. YouTube TV’s bundle includes the big four broadcast networks–ABC, FOX, CBS, and NBC–and around 35 cable channels.
There were whispers about this project for some time. The YouTube OTT service enters a field with DirecTV Now, Sling, and Playstation Vue operating in the same cord-cutting space. Hulu is also expected to roll out a live TV product this year.
There’s no release date for YouTube TV, though they said to expect a U.S. launch in the “coming weeks and months.” For now, we put together a quick pro/con list for cord cutters:
Pros of YouTube TV
- An unlimited DVR cloud makes YouTube TV the first OTT service to have this valuable feature.
- YouTube currently has its YouTube Red service, which includes offline and ad-free videos, a music app, and original shows. The Red service will be included for free in a YouTube TV subscription.
- Showtime is available as an add-on.
- The service will be integrated with Google Chrome and Google Home.
Cons of YouTube TV
- Like the other OTT streaming services, they all seem to be missing a few key channels. Absent for now on YouTube TV are Viacom channels like MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon. Turner channels like TNT, TBS, and CNN are also left off the service for now.
- HBO add-on option is not currently included.
For more cord cutting advice, we wrote a primer on Live TV Streaming.