The cord cutting competition is about to get a lot more interesting. YouTube has announced YouTube TV, its own streaming TV service at an event in Los Angeles today (Feb. 28).
It's the latest salvo fired in a war that had previously been dominated by the likes of DirecTV Now, SlingTV and PlayStation Vue.
For a very affordable $35 a month, you can get all four of the biggest broadcast networks (ABC, FOX, NBC and CBS), as well as about 30 cable channels. No official release date was announced.
The other notable channels include ESPN, MSNBC, Fox News, SyFy, E!, the Disney Channel and National Geographic. ShowTime and Fox Soccer Plus are available as add-ons. Perhaps most enticing is the service's unlimited cloud DVR, which lets you record as much as you want, but shows are deleted nine months after they are recorded. Subscribers will also get access to shows that had previously been available exclusively on YouTube Red.
The $35 price tag provides access for up to six individual users who can personalize the service to their liking. Those interested in information about YouTube TV can go here to sign up for launch updates.
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You won't get everything you need, though. There are some noticeable names missing, like Turner Broadcasting's CNN, TBS and TNT and Viacom channels including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, as well as AMC.
YouTube TV will also support voice control via Google Home, so you can ask the smarthome device to start playing a show on a Chromecast. IF you're on the go, you'll be able to stream YouTube TV on a mobile app.
PlayStation Vue's cheapest package, called "Access," is $29.99 per month ($39.99 in select markets, including New York and Los Angeles) and includes ABC, FOX, NBC and local CBS stations. You get AMC and Turner but there is no access to Viacom. Sling TV's $20 per month orange package offers TBS, Comedy Central and AMC. To get the most out of Sling - live sports on ESPN and broadcast network,s you need the $40 orange and blue subscription. DirecTV Now offers four tiers starting at $35. Its networks include ABC, Fox and NBC, and depending on your tier, you can get Viacom's channels, too.
Yesterday, YouTube wrote in a blog post that its users watch over a billion hours of videos on YouTube every day.
YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, has seemingly beat Apple to the punch in putting together a fairly comprehensive streaming service, something which the Cupertino-based company has never managed (but has often reportedly tried) to pull off for its Apple TV platform.
