YouTube TV launches a rival slim bundle of live online channels, and it’s betting young viewers prefer real TV on mobile (even if nobody else seems to).
YouTube’s new live TV streaming service has more than 40 channels and unlimited cloud DVR for $35 a month. Let’s take a spin.
With a new live TV service, YouTube is wagering young people are as hooked on their phones for a full TV meal as they are for video snacks.
YouTube TV launches Wednesday, offering a “skinny bundle” of about 50 live TV networks online for $35 a month, starting in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and the San Francisco. The service includes a 30-day free trial, and the company will throw in a free Google Chromecast streaming device, worth $35, after your first payment (i.e. after the second month).
Just don’t bank on being able to stream it all through the Roku, Amazon Fire TV or Apple TV you already have.
It adds Google’s YouTube to the snowballing market for digital live TV, going up against Dish’s Sling TV , Sony’s PlayStation Vue and AT&T’s DirecTV Now , with Hulu expected to follow suit this spring. That means a lot of options if you’re looking to drop your traditional pay-TV subscription. The launch also puts the internet giant in competition with traditional pay-TV providers like Comcast and Charter.
YouTube TV is focusing on its mobile app foremost, even though most streaming customers gravitate to the biggest screen available.
YouTube TV undercuts a comparable plan from Sling TV, as well as Playstation Vue’s cheapest plan. Both of those are priced at $40. It’s also in line with DirecTV Now’s low-end plan (although DirecTV Now has 10 more channels).
To set itself apart, Google’s YouTube is focusing on two strengths of its massive free video-clip site: Its popularity with younger viewers and its domination of mobile streaming.
