Come December 9, it’s very possible that Roku — the No. 1 streaming platform in the United States, and No. 2 in the rest of the world — could lose access to YouTube due to an ongoing dispute with Google over … something. (Roku says it’s not about money, but it’s totally about money.) Losing YouTube also would mean losing access to YouTube TV, because that’s currently the only way to get to the No. 2 live TV streaming service on Roku due to the fallout from this whole fracas.
It’s exhausting as someone who uses YouTube TV. It’s exhausting as someone who uses Roku. And it raises the very real question about what your options are if, come the second week of December, YouTube and YouTube TV no longer are available on Roku.
The good news, if there’s any to be had when two companies are fighting publicly and dragging their customers into the mud with them, is that you’ve got options. No promises that you’re going to like them, though.
Phil Nickinson/Digital Trends
Option 1: Get rid of Roku
If you just have to keep YouTube TV, then your best bet is going to be to move off of Roku and onto some other platform.
That’s the easy part of this option. Slightly more difficult is deciding what hardware to go with instead of Roku. That mostly comes down to a function of how much money you’re willing to spend.
The cheapskate option: Use what you’ve got
There’s a pretty good chance that if you’ve bought a television in the past few years, it comes with some sort of smart operating system built in. (If that OS happens to be Roku, well, you’re out of luck and will need to skip down a few paragraphs.) But it could be Vizio’s SmartCast, or Samsung’s smart OS, or even Google TV or Amazon Fire TV. If you’ve got some operating system other than Roku, you almost certainly should be able to watch YouTube and/or YouTube TV using it instead of an external Roku device.
There’s also a decent chance that your relatively modern TV has Google’s Chromecast protocol, or Apple’s AirPlay baked in. In that case, you can stream YouTube and YouTube TV from your phone, tablet, or computer. And that goes for Roku TVs, too. If they support Chromecast or AirPlay, you’re good to go, YouTube app be damned.
Repeat: There’s a very real chance that your TV will let you use your phone or tablet or computer to stream YouTube and YouTube TV to it. Try this first.
The relatively inexpensive options
If you’re using a Roku streaming stick of some sort and want to replace it to keep access to YouTube and YouTube TV, you’ve got a lot of comparable options that will very much be in the same price range.
If you’re looking to go native with YouTube and YouTube TV, you can’t beat the new Chromecast with Google TV. It’s the latest device from Google itself and competes directly with Roku — which likely isn’t helping with the negotiations any — both in terms of price and features. At $50 retail, it’s right in that sweet spot. And in addition to YouTube and YouTube TV, it’s got all the other major streaming apps, including Apple TV+ for you Ted Lasso fans.
Another obvious option is Amazon Fire TV, whose sticks are right in the same price range as Roku’s. They match up in terms of specs, too, with features like support for 4K resolution, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos. For our money, we’d go with the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max, which is the latest release and the most future-proof at this point.
YouTube and YouTube TV are both available on LG TVs’ built-in operating system.Phil Nickinson/Digital Trends
If you don’t mind dropping some cash
For some people, a $50 stick is fine. But others might not mind spending three times as much.” We’ve got them covered, too.
Apple TV 4K offers one of the best hardware experiences you can put in your living room. And it should be, since the latest model retails at $179 for 32 gigabytes of storage, or $199 for 64GB. The user interface is simple. It’s got all the apps, including YouTube and YouTube TV. And if you’re already all-in on the Apple ecosystem, you’ll get extra perks like HomeKit and Apple Fitness+, plus the aforementioned AirPlay.
And it’s also extremely rare to see public spats between Apple and the streaming services. That in and of itself may be worth paying the extra money.
Another not-inexpensive option, if you’re looking for the best Android-based hardware you can get, is Nvidia Shield. YouTube and YouTube TV have great support there, of course, and Chromecast is built in, too.
Option 2: Get rid of YouTube TV
If you’re in love with Roku and can’t see yourself living without it, then maybe it’s time to grab a new streaming service for your live channels. Fortunately, there are more options there than ever before.
Free TV is easy — and free
Those of us of a certain age remember a time in which every television had an antenna sticking out the back. Or maybe an antenna was hanging off the side of the house, connected via cable to the television inside. The thing is, antennas may have gone out of style, but the technology is still solid. And with the rollout of ATSC 3.0, aka NextGen TV, you’re actually able to get your local channels in 4K resolution, where available.
Over-the-air antennas are a dime a dozen. You can spend $20 and get something that fits in a window, inside. Or you can spend more and mount something outside, and then run a cable into your TV inside. Just know that either way, you might have to play around a little bit with placement — and that outdoors and higher is always better than indoors and lower.
There are a number of options for live streaming channels, too. There are apps like Pluto that serve up live news and sport, in addition to other “linear” channels, for free, all supported by advertising. There’s also The Roku Channel, which has a wealth of free content, including live news from a number of sources (just be sure to stick with the credible ones, as there definitely are some fringe actors in there).
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Get a new live streaming service
If you’re looking for a new paid streaming service for live TV, you’ve got options. Not a lot, but they’re there.
Hulu With Live TV is about as close as it comes to YouTube TV in terms of scale — it had 3.7 million subscribers at last count, which actually is more than the “more than 3 million subscribers” YouTube TV announced in October 2020. It’s also comparable in terms of what channels are available, but do know that it’s not a 1:1 recreation. It has some channels that YouTube TV didn’t, and vice versa. Hulu nickels-and-dimes you over things like DVR recording — YouTube TV’s is unlimited — and Hulu charges for extra “space.” But it’s still an excellent option and worth checking out.
Outside of Hulu, another strong contender is Sling TV, which has a pair of base plans with fewer channels (and lower prices) than you’re used to. You’ll then build things out further with “Extras,” and the price will increase from there, too. It’s got the same basic list of options, too, like cloud-based DVR and the ability to add to the number of screens you’re able to watch at one time.
FuboTV also starts at the same monthly price of YouTube TV, and has a comparable list of channels. And like YouTube TV, it’s one of the few ways you can stream sports in (upscaled) 4K resolution. FuboTV also has a strong contingent of paid add-ons, including a number of international sports options that aren’t available anywhere else.
Another service to check out — particularly if you’re not looking to spend a lot — is Philo. You’ll get more than five dozen channels for $25 a month, and it’s available on just about every major hardware platform.
Option 3: Go outside and take a walk
It’s really nice this time of year. Maybe turn off the TV for a little while, get some fresh air. Maybe read a book.
And hope all this Roku-Google-YouTube nonsense blows over.
What is YouTube Music? Everything you need to know
YouTube is one of the most popular online destinations for video, but it's also one of the premier places in the world to find music. It's no surprise, then, that Google went and rolled all that music content out into a dedicated music app called YouTube Music. The app offers music and podcasts and has free and premium versions.
If you're wondering how YouTube Music compares to other music streaming services like Spotify, Tidal, or Apple Music, it really depends on how frequently you rely on YouTube to search for music and how important music videos are to you. In this article, we'll give you all the information you need to make an informed decision.
The basics
YouTube TV just got even better on iPhones and iPads
If you use the most popular live-streaming service on an iPhone or iPad, things just got even better. YouTube TV — which boasts more than 8 million subscribers — just pushed multiview live on Apple's mobile devices, as previously promised.
It works basically the same way it does on a television. YouTube TV picks the programs available in multiview, and you get them all at once, with audio coming from one of the shows. Tap another, and the audio switches. And just as before, you can get multiview for sports, news, business, or weather. (Though we definitely don't recommend watching four news channels at once in an election year.) It's just in time for March Madness, which is great, though we hope you'll be able to pick your own games instead of just sticking with the multiple viewing options YouTube TV gives. This will be great come fall, though, when the new season of NFL Sunday Ticket takes hold.
YouTube is such a common part of internet infrastructure that it's now used for everything from entertainment to recording work events to livestreaming conferences to publishing the newest music videos. But as the platform has grown, it has become more and more reliant on ads. If you're sick of ads before, during, and after YouTube videos, then you can consider paying for a subscription for YouTube Premium so you won't have to see any more ads while browsing or watching videos.
The YouTube family of products can be a bit confusing, however. As well as YouTube Premium, there are other paid services like YouTube Music, YouTube TV, the now-defunct YouTube Go, plus some free movies on YouTube you don't want to miss. But the price for YouTube Premium has changed since it launched, so it's worth taking some time to consider how much you'll be paying and whether it's worth it for you -- or even if you could save some money using options like the YouTube Premium family plan or the free trial.
