There’s still an appeal to live TV, despite all the other entertainment options on the internet. Some kinds of content remain exclusive to live channels, particularly sports, and when it isn’t exclusive, there can be a small joy at discovering something new by accident, or realizing that you’re witnessing something major alongside millions of other people. More rarely, it’s nice to have a non-stop stream of background entertainment, whether it’s The Joy of Painting or a Shaw Brothers marathon.
YouTube TV is considered the king of live TV services in the US, and I actually did enjoy it to a degree while I was subscribed. But I can’t see myself going back to it anytime soon — maybe even if I struck it rich. It’s misaligned with me in several ways.
All the problems I have with YouTube TV
A relic from a bygone age
I hate to lead with my biggest gripe, but it’s such a large one that I can’t ignore it: almost all the core channels are uninteresting to me. There are a few mildly interesting options, such as Adult Swim, FX, PBS, and Comedy Central, but every other channel either has scattershot appeal or is actively repulsive. By that I mean that while I might tune into Syfy or Turner Classic Movies if something I recognize pops up, you’d have to pay me to sit through an hour of HGTV or Newsmax.
Also, I simply do not care about pro sports, which is one of the main selling points of the service. There are well over a dozen dedicated sports channels in any given zip code, and of course the big four broadcasters — ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox — will sometimes cover major games themselves. This disdain might be a little surprising given that I like powerlifting, grew up in Canada, and lived for over a decade in the home of the Texas Longhorns. Yet even if powerlifting was on TV more often, I get my fill from the creators I follow on the regular version of YouTube.
I could get more excited about some of the add-on channels available, such as Cinemax, HBO Max, or Hi-Yah, but the recurring theme is that the best ones are available outside of YouTube TV, and you can end up paying through the nose for the privilege of having everything in one place. Let’s do a quick sample tally. As of this writing, the base cost of YouTube TV is $83 per month after your first two months. An Entertainment bundle with Starz, Showtime, Paramount+, and HBO Max is $30. To be able to watch content offline or in 4K, you need to spend another $10, bringing the total to $123 before any taxes. I think I’d rather pay $230 per year directly to HBO Max and get the rest of my fun elsewhere.
For a lot of us, long-form video itself is losing appeal given all the other entertainment options available.
Honestly, I think I’ve moved on from most of the content live TV has to offer. The industry seems stuck in the 2000s. Many of the best movies and shows are streaming exclusives, where they often have higher budgets and/or less censorship. There’s no equivalent of Andor or Peacemaker on broadcast TV, and you’re certainly not going to see the uncut version of Apocalypse Now or Dune: Part Two. The regular version of YouTube, meanwhile, has evolved to the point where I can find videos for incredibly niche tastes with surprisingly high production values. One of my other hobbies is riding electric unicycles, and there are a few creators who shoot and edit their work like it was a show on MotorTrend.
Even the benefits I appreciate about live broadcasting are fading. Many live events are on services like YouTube, Twitch, or networks’ first-party subscription platforms. If I want something comforting in the background, non-stop streams are available in many places, another example being Pluto TV. And as for the joy of experiencing events with others, tastes are so fractured that outside of the absolute largest ones, it can be tough to find people on the same page.
For a lot of us, long-form video itself is losing appeal given all the other entertainment options available. Some people would rather spend their time scrolling through short clips on TikTok, or posting on forum sites like Reddit. Personally, I’d often rather play video games, and I’m in good company — the industry’s global 2024 revenues are estimated to have been nearly $455 billion, according to Statista. It’s hard to compete not just with the interactivity and immersion of games, but their value proposition. While a single game may cost anywhere from $20 to $70, that can be an incredible bargain if it lasts you dozens of hours. Online games like Fortnite and PUBG can be played indefinitely.
On-demand streaming better matches my lifestyle and those of many other viewers. It’s ridiculous, in a way, that anyone in 2026 would expect me to be in front of a screen at a specific time to watch something that isn’t a live event, or else use a cloud DVR to record it. Entertainment should automatically be available how and when I want it, preferably with as few ads as possible. It’s not just what I’m used to — it’s the formula that made Netflix a success in the first place. Going back to a cable-style TV package is kind of like trying to resurrect Blockbuster Video. Technology and culture, by and large, have moved on.
Is there anything YouTube TV can do to win me back?
The uphill battle
Probably not. For one, I’m living in Canada now, where YouTube TV remains strangely unavailable. If I were back in the US, I might be tempted if the price of the core service dropped back to its original $50. Needless to say, though, that’s not going to happen. The rights to live TV are costly, and the service’s channel selection has grown considerably since 2017. In that regard, I can’t blame Google for charging as much as it does, especially if it’s expected to host all that bandwidth and DVR storage.
As the rest of the entertainment industry evolves, it’s hard to imagine the generation of my eight-year-old son giving any thought to a platform where the 156th season of Survivor is a big deal.
The burden is on the TV industry itself. It’s no secret at this point that many channels are pandering to the lowest common denominator, clinging to a once-indomitable business model. The issue is that by trying to appeal to everyone, you frequently appeal to no one, except perhaps an audience that was raised on cable TV for so long that the idea of app-exclusive services or hunting for YouTube channels is intimidating.
Clearly, there are people getting their fix with YouTube TV, otherwise it wouldn’t have millions of subscribers. It might be telling, however, that profitability only recently became a prospect, helped by all those price hikes and the continuing exodus from traditional cable and satellite providers. As the rest of the entertainment industry evolves, it’s hard to imagine the generation of my eight-year-old son giving any thought to a platform where the 156th season of Survivor is a big deal, rather than ones where he can explore virtual worlds or make his own music with a few taps.
