YouTube’s streaming TV service is finally live

For now, that’s the only way to get YouTube TV on a TV, since there aren’t yet apps for connected TV devices. The service is a competitor for services like Sling TV, DirecTV Now and PlayStation Vue, but it differs from streaming services such as Netflix because it offers live TV rather than on-demand streaming.

I still think YouTube has a major challenge ahead.

While YouTube TV was announced with plenty of key details along with it, including the $35 per month price, what we didn’t know was when exactly it would launch and where it would be available.

But YouTube TV lacks several big TV networks like CNN, Discovery Channel, and TBS, making it an incomplete replacement. There’s no word on when that will be, though Google says it has hopes to expand into more areas later this year. The app includes 3 tabs, Library, Home and Live and as you scroll down your feed you are shown live streams from every channel you come across.

In addition to its offering of live, traditional television programming, YouTube TV will also give members access to its slate of YouTube Red originals. As most people do not have unlimited data plans, it will all depend on how much you watch, and where you watch it. Sports fan? Then it’s all about ESPN and local sports.

The monthly fee for YouTube TV is a flat $35, and a basic Chromecast costs $35, so together the deal is a $70 value.

He thinks YouTube is in the driver’s seat to win the race for the “cord nevers”, the folks who never would have considered subscribing, based on heft.

In 2014, Google had launched YouTube Offline to help users watch videos without waiting for the videos to buffer. “They already have you”. The service will expand to other USA markets.

YouTube TV also offers subscribers access to its cloud DVR feature, which allows users to record and store as many shows as they want, with no storage limits. What we recognized is that it was really distribution that was a struggle for them.

How is YouTube TV different?

While YouTube TV is now only available in the aforementioned select markets, more markets will be added “soon”, according to the YouTube TV website.