Watch shows, sports, events, & movies on YouTube TV

You can watch live TV or add your favorite shows, movies, and more to your library for future viewing on YouTube TV.

Watch programs on the Home, Live, or Library tabs

Home

Home is where you'll find recommendations for what to watch on YouTube TV. These recommendations are based on your watch history on YouTube TV and YouTube—learn how to manage your history on YouTube TV and on YouTube. You'll see a combination of live TV shows, on-demand programs, and YouTube videos.

Live

Live is where you can scroll through networks to see which programs are on right now. You’ll also see recommendations for live programs you can watch on YouTube TV. Select any program to watch the live airing.

You can customize the Live tab to match your viewing preferences. For example, you can hide certain networks so that only your favorite networks show, or reorder networks in the guide.

To customize:

On the Live tab, select Sort.
Select Edit.
Customize your Live tab in the Live guide settings page.

Tips:

If you've previously customized your Live tab to see certain networks, you'll need to add any new networks to your customized network lineup.
You can also customize your Live tab viewing preferences by selecting your profile photo Settings Live guide on a mobile device or web browser. Once set, your Live tab preferences will be reflected in YouTube TV on all of your devices.

Library

Library is where you'll find all of your recorded shows, sports games, events, or movies. You'll also see scheduled recordings, recently recorded videos, and most-watched networks. Learn more about how to add programs to your library.

Watch & record sports

You can watch national games, record local games within your home area and hide sports scores with YouTube TV. Learn more below about the different kinds of sports you can watch on YouTube TV. You can also subscribe to additional sports packages through our Sports Plus add-on.

How to Watch Sports on YouTube TV

Subscribe to the YouTube Viewers channel for the latest news, updates, and tips.

National vs. local channels

Sports availability depends on the type of network the game is aired on. Some games air nationally, and some air over local affiliate networks. National channels, like ESPN, are available in your home area. When you travel to a different location within the U.S., local channels, like your local CBS, FOX, or NBC station, are available based on your location. Keep in mind that local channels also have different restrictions for recording.

NFL Football

With a YouTube TV Base Plan, here’s what NFL games you can watch:

Most preseason games carried locally and nationally
Regular season games carried both locally and nationally, including:
- Sunday Night Football on NBC
- Thanksgiving games on CBS, NBC, and FOX
- Monday Night Football on ESPN
- NFL Network and ABC games
Postseason games carried nationally

When you add NFL Sunday Ticket to your YouTube TV Base Plan, you can also watch all out-of-market Sunday games throughout the regular season. Combining a YouTube TV Base Plan with the NFL Sunday Ticket add-on means you can watch:

Preseason NFL games: Watch preseason NFL games carried nationally on NFL Network and ESPN and locally on networks including ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC on channels included in your YouTube TV Base Plan.
- Note on embargoes: If a preseason game in your local area is airing on a local channel and NFL Network, it will be subject to embargo ("blackout restrictions") and not shown on NFL Network, even if the local channel is not available as part of the YouTube TV Base Plan in your area. Most preseason games are re-aired at later dates and times on NFL Network though, and these rebroadcasts are not subject to the same restrictions.
Regular season NFL games on local and national channels: Watch regular season NFL games carried nationally, like Sunday Night Football on NBC and Monday Night Football on ESPN, and locally on CBS and FOX channels included in your YouTube TV Base Plan.
Regular season Sunday afternoon out-of-market NFL games: Watch regular season Sunday afternoon (EST) games carried on CBS and FOX on channels not available in your local area with NFL Sunday Ticket. NFL Sunday Ticket starts with the regular season in September.
Postseason NFL games: Watch postseason games carried nationally on CBS, FOX, ESPN, and NBC with your YouTube Base Plan.

Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime is not available on YouTube TV.

Baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer & other sports

These games generally air through regional sports networks (RSNs), and depend on your home area. You can watch and record these networks regardless of your current location.
- For example: You live in San Francisco and travel to San Diego. When you log into your YouTube TV account from San Diego, you can watch and record games aired on your regional sports network in San Francisco.
You can check whether your local RSN is available by entering your zip code here.
Some games air through local affiliate channels (vs through your regional network). You can view these games based on your current location, not your home area. When you travel to a different city, you’ll see local games airing in that location.
Some games air on national networks (like ESPN or TNT). You can watch these games no matter where you are.
Learn more about what you can see on YouTube TV while traveling within the U.S.

College sports

These games can air on local networks, regional sports networks (RSNs), or national networks.

Search for programs, genres, & networks

Search bar

Use the search bar to find shows, movies, sports teams, events, actors, and networks.

To search:

Select Search on any screen.
Enter a search term into the search bar and hit enter.
If you're using a mobile device, you can also search by voice by selecting the microphone on the right side of the search bar.

Browse by types of programs

You can browse TV shows, movies, family programs, news, and sports on the Search page. Select Search on any screen, then select an icon (Shows, Movies, and so on) under "Browse," directly below the search bar.

Browse by network

Browse networks to see programs available on different networks. To find a list of networks, select Search on any screen and scroll down to "Networks." You can also search for a specific network by entering the network name into the search bar.

Note: Network pages may look different from one another, as they're each managed by individual networks.

Turn autoplay on or off

When you start the YouTube TV app on your TV, one of your top recommendations will autoplay, unless you've turned off this feature. To turn this feature on or off:

Click Settings.
Scroll to select Autoplay on Start.
Turn the feature on or off.

Enjoy 5.1 surround sound

You can watch some YouTube TV programs with 5.1 surround sound when using the app on a compatible TV device. As long as your device and set-up meet the requirements, you’ll automatically get 5.1 audio whenever it’s available for the program you’re watching. Learn more about how to get surround sound, and troubleshoot audio quality on your TV below.

Note: Turning on 5.1 audio will turn off any secondary audio selection, which may contain descriptive audio or additional languages.

How to get immersive sound

To get immersive 5.1 surround sound you need:

A compatible TV device.
- Apple TV
- Samsung + LG + Vizio devices with Cobalt 20 or above
- Traditional Chromecasts
- Android TV
- Google TV
- Roku
- Fire TV Stick 4K Max, Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Stick Lite, Fire TV Cube, Fire TV Stick 4K, and Fire TV Stick with 4K Ultra HD
- Xbox
A compatible speaker system.
The YouTube TV app installed on your device.
- Note: The app must be running Cobalt version 20 or higher. Learn how to check the Cobalt version for your TV.
Programs which support 5.1 audio.

Check if your device is compatible

In order to watch programs with 5.1 audio, you’ll need to use a compatible TV device that is running on Cobalt 20+. Learn how to check the Cobalt version for your TV.

Check if a program has 5.1 audio

As long as your device and set-up meets the requirements, you’ll automatically get 5.1 audio whenever it’s available for the program you’re watching. Keep in mind that certain channels in YouTube TV won’t offer programs with 5.1 surround sound. If you think you should be getting 5.1 audio for the program you’re watching, the best way to check whether the program carries surround sound is to look at the audio details in Stats for nerds.

To check the audio details in Stats for nerds:

Open the YouTube TV app on your TV, and play a video.
Go to the player controls, then select More .
Select the bug .
Stats for nerds will be displayed on top of the video while the video is playing.

If surround sound is available for the program you’re watching, you’ll see AC-3/EAC-3 listed in the Codecs section.

To learn more about Stats for nerds, go to this article.

Turn off 5.1 audio

Should you experience any issues with your 5.1 surround sound setup, you can turn off 5.1 audio via YouTube TV settings:

1. Open the YouTube TV app on your TV.
2. Click on your account avatar
3. Navigate to the Settings menu
4. Open the setting for “5.1 audio” and switch to OFF

To turn off 5.1 audio via your device’s settings, consult your device’s user manual or support center.

In the YouTube TV mobile app, you can press down on your screen on any page to open a Menu. The Menu includes various actions, like adding a program to your library.
For any show, movie, or event, you can visit the program page to see episodes, cast members, and other info. If you see a YouTube video that's not available on YouTube TV, you'll be redirected to the YouTube app.
Most programs on YouTube TV are available in English by default. Sometimes, programs may be available in Spanish. If so, you'll see "Español" written next to the video.
To learn how to use keyboard shortcuts for YouTube, go to this article.
YouTube TV is not currently available in offline mode.

More tips for watching on YouTube TV

In the YouTube TV mobile app, press down on your screen on any page to open a Menu. The Menu includes various actions, like adding a program to your library.
For any show, movie, or event, you can visit the program page to see episodes, cast members, and other info. If you see a YouTube video that's not available on YouTube TV, you'll be redirected to the YouTube app.
Most programs on YouTube TV are available in English by default. Sometimes, programs may be available in Spanish. If so, you'll see "Español" written next to the video.
Learn how to use keyboard shortcuts for YouTube.
YouTube TV is not available in offline mode.
To return to the last channel you were watching on YouTube TV, long-press the OK/Select button on your remote.

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