YouTube TV, Google’s live streaming service, is set to reach 95% of American markets. This will enable YouTube TV service to be viewable in 98% of US households. The plan is to cover the entire US markets in the coming months.
YouTube TV first launched in April 2017 in only five US cities. By the end of that year, 50% of US households could enjoy the service with ease. And by early 2018, YouTube TV launched an app for Apple TV, a service that enabled subscribers to watch the Super Bowl in February 2018. YouTube TV comes with a DVR with lots of channel options to choose from for only $40 per month.
Google in a statement said there are no immediate plans to launch YouTube TV in global markets. The service is only intended for United States subscribers at the moment, and international markets are not on the radar for now.
The five initial cities that enjoyed the service are the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Others recently covered are –
- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Boise, Idaho
- Evansville, Indiana
- Augusta, GA/Aiken, South Carolina
- Johnstown-Altoona-State College, PA
- Springfield-Holyoke, Massachusettes
- Reno, Nevada
- Lincoln, Tennessee
- Tallahassee, Fla./Thomasville, GA
- Peoria-Bloomington, Illinois
- Tyler-Longview, Texas
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Montgomery-Selma, Alabama
YouTube TV can be enjoyed on ABC, FOX, CBS and NBC and in up to 90% of the local markets it targets. Other stations that can enjoy YouTube TV include TNT, TBS, CNN, ESPN and FX among others. But users can also record programs using its dedicated DVR which operates on the cloud.
When will Nigeria enjoy this kind of service? Well, maybe YouTube TV will be available to Nigerians when it rolls out in international markets. The problem however is that it utilizes data to enjoy, and it doubtful if millions of Nigerians can afford to watch a TV service that requires internet subscription and a monthly access fee. Meanwhile, where is TNT which launched in Nigeria last year, promising to compete with StarTimes, GoTV and DSTV among others?
