If there ever was any doubt which live streaming service was dominating in the U.S., it ends now. YouTube TV has more than 8 million subscribers, according to a blog post penned by CEO Neal Mohan. That’s up from the 5 million subscribers the service announced in July 2022.
By comparison, Hulu With Live TV — the second-biggest service — reported 4.6 million subscribers as of September 30, 2023, which marked the end of parent company Disney’s fiscal year. YouTube’s parent company, Google/Alphabet, doesn’t report subscription numbers with any real sort of fidelity. “More than 8 million” is all we’re going to get. The new numbers also mean that YouTube TV has about four times as many subscribers as the third-highest service, which is Sling TV, at just over 2 million.
Recommended Videos
The reasons for YouTube TV’s popularity are myriad. Its price is comparable to its competitors — currently at $73 a month for its sole plan. And it has a pretty healthy stable of add-on features, such as the ability to watch some live shows and on-demand titles in 4K resolution. It also allows for unlimited recording, a total of six separate profiles on a single subscription — and it is easy to use whether you’re watching on a TV, tablet, or phone. YouTube TV has also seen a pretty major marketing push in the past couple of years at high-profile events like the Major League Baseball World Series and the NBA Finals.
Also bolstering the numbers has been the addition of NFL Sunday Ticket, which in 2023 made the leap from the satellite-based DirecTV to YouTube TV, as well as YouTube Primetime Channels on the traditional YouTube app. Execs have said in a couple of earnings calls that NFL Sunday Ticket has directly led to an increase in subscribers. YouTube TV also has a multiview feature, letting you watch multiple games simultaneously. (It also works for news and weather in addition to sports.)
YouTube TV is available on every major streaming platform, from Google TV and Android TV to Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV. It’s also available on smartphones, tablets, and web browsers.
8K TV: everything you need to know about television’s future
You've undoubtedly heard of 8K TV. It's been around for a while, but when it first appeared to consumers it was billed as the next mind-blowing resolution that makes 4K look like child's play. Well, it still is, but as it continues making its way to more widespread use, you still might have some questions about it.
8K TVs pack a whopping amount of pixels (more than 30 million!), much more than regular HD TVs and the best 4K TVs on the market. Major brands like Samsung, LG, Sony, and TCL continue to roll out 8K TV models that feature backlighting tech like mini-LED for insane brightness and contrast. Prices are finally becoming affordable, too, with some 65-inch 8K TVs coming in at under $2,000.
NFL Sunday Ticket adds Yahoo fantasy football, better multiview
NFL fans this season will have a few more reasons to check out NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. In addition to it being the only way to watch all of Sunday’s out-of-market games from the comfort of your own home, this season also will include integration with a couple of Fantasy Football providers, as well as improved multiview options.
On today’s episode of You Asked: Can certain videos on YouTube actually help fix burn-in on your OLED TV, or will they make things worse? We’ll also revisit the best TVs for watching sports, and talk about how to record and watch sports if you’ve got a dumb TV in a spare room. And we've got a quick run-through on the best picture settings for your new TV.
The Settings I Change on EVERY TV | You Asked Ep. 53
Is it burn-in?
