YouTube TV Expansion Reaches 50% of U.S. Household

Google has made an expansion of its YouTube TV, which bills itself as a substitute for cable television, subscription service in 14 new U.S. markets, and is now made available to half of all U.S. households.

The company has also announced another expansion plans to move into 17 additional major markets in the weeks ahead, as it pursues its rapid march towards nationwide coverage.

YouTube TV’s Availability

New markets, where YouTube is now available, include Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, Jacksonville-Brunswick, Fla., Las Vegas, Louisville, Ky., Memphis, Ten., Nashville, Tenn., Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Seattle-Tacoma, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota, and West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, Fla.

YouTube TV’s service costs $35 per month, and includes access to nearly 50 networks, including broadcast networks, cable TV, and in select markets and local sports. Networks like ESPN, AMC, and FX, as well as features like an unlimited cloud-based DVR, and support for up to six accounts per household, each with their own recommendations, and DVR storage space. Three people can stream simultaneously across desktop, tablet, mobile or TV through Chromecast or AirPlay.

On the other hand, unavailable channels include networks from Turner, consisting CNN, TBS, and TNT; Viacom; Discovery Communications; and Scripps Networks Interactive. HBO is also not included in the option.

YouTube TV is also adding two channels to its network lineup, which are E.W. Scripps’ Newsy national network and the Tennis Channel. Customers in Boston will have access to regional sports network NESN, the home of the Red Sox.

YouTube TV is one of many skinny bundles for streaming live TV over the internet, which today includes rivals like Hulu Live TV, Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, fuboTV, and AT&T’s DirecTV Now.

YouTube, a California-based video-sharing website, is expanding access to live TV streaming as many younger viewers increasingly stream shows online, and traditional broadcast networks contend to aging demographics among viewers.

Additional markets in the coming weeks include Austin, Birmingham, Cleveland-Akron, Denver, Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem, Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, Hartford-New Haven, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Mo., Milwaukee, Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, Oklahoma City, Raleigh-Durham, Salt Lake City, San Diego, and St. Louis.

YouTube TV and Sinclair Agreement

YouTube TV’s local coverage expansion was made possible through the latest partnership, which was also announced on Thursday, with the Baltimore-based Sinclair Broadcast Group, the America’s largest owner of local broadcast stations.

The agreement says that all of Sinclair’s ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC partners will go live on YouTube TV in nine of the 14 new markets. YouTube TV says that its service now has the most live, local broadcast stations, as compared with other major streaming rivals in the markets where it operates.

Sinclair also owns the Tennis Channel, and its My TV and CW partners will appear on YouTube TV soon, along with Comet TV.

Sinclair has also made agreements with other streaming providers, but not to the same extent as YouTube TV. Fox and CBS partners are now available on PlayStation Vue, and ABC stations are available on DirecTV Now, but no Sinclair stations are available on either Hulu or Sling TV.

Sinclair’s Executive Vice President for distribution and network relations, Barry Faber, said in a statement, “We believe that our viewers want the ability to access content on any screen and having this relationship with YouTube will provide value to not only our viewers, but our advertising relationships as well.” 

“We appreciate that Google, the owner of the YouTube TV, recognized the importance of carrying all of the local broadcast affiliates to their effort to attract subscribers to this new service.”

Conclusion

YouTube TV is different from YouTube, its online partner which offers originally created videos.

Prior to the expansion, the service was available in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Charlotte and Dallas-Fort Worth.

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