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'YouTube TV' Streaming Service Launches in Five U.S. Cities

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YouTube TV, YouTube's streaming television service that was first announced in late February, is rolling out to five cities in the United States starting today.

Priced at $35, the service is available in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

youtubetv.jpg

Separate from YouTube Red, YouTube's premium service that features content from prominent YouTubers, YouTube TV is a standalone app that's focused on a mobile first experience. It features access to ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, CW, Disney, ESPN, FX, USA, and dozens of other major cable channels, alongside standard YouTube video content. Premium channels like Showtime are available for an additional fee.

YouTube TV is priced competitively with other streaming services like DirecTV Now, Sling TV, and PlayStation Vue, and its feature set includes cloud DVR options with unlimited storage space and an AI-powered recommendation system. Up to six people in a household can use a single YouTube TV subscription.

To access YouTube TV, customers will need to download the YouTube TV app for iOS or Android, both of which are available today. A one-month free trial is available, and YouTube is providing a free Chromecast with the first month's payment to allow customers to stream content to a television set.

YouTube TV can be downloaded from the App Store starting now. [Direct Link]

Article Link: 'YouTube TV' Streaming Service Launches in Five U.S. Cities
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/04/05/youtube-tv-streaming-tv-service-launches/
So does it broadcast regular network TV, including sports? If so, I might be interested, but I also don't want Google spying on me.

Edit: Just read the app description page since the site hasn't gone live yet for me. This is a pretty freaking huge asterisk!

*YouTube TV is currently available to residents of the following areas: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia & San Francisco Bay Area.
Click to expand...

Edit 2: Sorry, I must have missed that line from the story, or maybe it was added. Not sure. Either way, this is useless for at least 85% of Americans.
 
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Is anyone aware exactly which ESPN channels are offered in this bundle? All of them?
 
"It features access to...CBS..."

"...its feature set includes cloud DVR options with unlimited storage space and an AI-powered recommendation system."

You hear this AT&T/Directv? We know you can't compete with Google on AI, but for God's sake give us CBS and cloud DVR!
 
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My guess is the networks stipulated it's not allowed on streaming boxes (Apple TV, Roku, Firestick) but $35 is great. I'm a customer if it ever does get an Apple TV app.
 
555gallardo said:
I guess Apple doesn't need to care about making their own service anymore
Click to expand...

At this point, I'm not sure Apple would be able to provide a better price point and selection of channels than some of the other services that are already on the market. I pay $35.00/month for 100 channels of live TV plus on demand stuff with DIRECTV Now. That original promo pricing is no longer available; but for those of us that hung in there while AT&T worked out the massive initial problems with the service, it was worth it, I think.

Even my wife (who had a ton of stuff on our old DIRECTV DVR) said the other day that she hasn't missed having the DVR because pretty much every show she watches is available on demand. She really likes the $80 we're saving each month compared to what we had been paying for standard DIRECTV.
 
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Looks at X1 streaming app...

If google music and youtube red was included I might consider it.
 
Zaft said:
I want to dump cable but every time I try to cancel they lower my bill :rolleyes:
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Really? They raise our bill and increase our resolve every time we call.

We began a week long trial of DirectTV Now yesterday. So far, we're pretty happy and will almost certainly be dropping Comcast as our cable provider. I'm considering the possibility of getting a Home Hotspot from AT&T for just $20/month and ditching Comcast entirely.
 
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I don't watch broadcast (prime network) TV anymore. It is propaganda news and drama shows and entertainment faux news.

I want to select the 5 channels I do watch. Original non-fiction content.

Also there some channels that are considered free or near free. Not sure if that is actually the case, but they could probably insert 5 more in for 1 of the premium channels.
 
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east85 said:
Sounds ideal, until you just don't. I have amazon prime and almost never watch prime video.
Click to expand...
Prime video is a confusing mess. They try to do everything, but most people don't understand it. If they had a better user interface and better marketing, it would have given Netflix something to worry about.
 
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I'm definitely interested to try this service out. I've tried Vue as I like the DVR option and I can get 3 of the 4 locals in my area. I do like DirecTV Now as well but no DVR option and only 2 of my 4 local channels is a bummer. Ready to try YouTube TV in DFW. And an Apple TV app is a must, although, I could get by with Chromecast

v0lume4 said:
Is anyone aware exactly which ESPN channels are offered in this bundle? All of them?
Click to expand...

Looks like most of them:
https://tv.youtube.com/welcome/

espn
espn2
espn u
espn news
SEC network
 
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soheilk said:
"It features access to...CBS..."

"...its feature set includes cloud DVR options with unlimited storage space and an AI-powered recommendation system."

You hear this AT&T/Directv? We know you can't compete with Google on AI, but for God's sake give us CBS and cloud DVR!
Click to expand...

PS Vue gives me access to CBS and cloud DVR in my area. But it seems like local channel availability varies with these services. For instance, I can't get my local CBS on DirectvNow but can on Vue.
[doublepost=1491414801][/doublepost]
busyscott said:
My guess is the networks stipulated it's not allowed on streaming boxes (Apple TV, Roku, Firestick) but $35 is great. I'm a customer if it ever does get an Apple TV app.
Click to expand...

I'm sure they are working on it. PS Vue and DirectvNow have ~$35-$40 options and Apple TV, Roku, etc. apps
 
macduke said:
Edit 2: Sorry, I must have missed that line from the story, or maybe it was added. Not sure. Either way, this is useless for at least 85% of Americans.
Click to expand...

You're correct; but doing things this way is a smarter way to do a rollout like this. The way AT&T rolled out DIRECTV Now, everyone had access to it immediately and chaos quickly ensued. The service was practically unwatchable from 6:00 PM-Midnight every night for close to two months.

They've since worked out the kinks and the streaming has been rock solid for me for about a month and a half now; but AT&T had a massive PR problem there for a while as their CSRs were trying to place blame on everything else except for the actual service itself (which really was the problem). I had to chuckle as I saw numerous AT&T CSRs on Twitter advising people to switch out HDMI cables to try to fix the problem. Needless to say, that did not fix anything.
 
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