Dive Brief:
- YouTube TV is now available directly on TVs with a dedicated app for smart TVs, gaming consoles and streaming devices, per a report from TechCrunch.
- The app is the first standalone version of the service which had previously only been available through mobile, desktop and casting options. YouTube TV is now available in the top 50 metro markets covering two-thirds of the U.S. and its key competitors include streaming services and skinny bundles such as Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, Hulu Live TV, and DirecTV Now.
- Google will first be rolling out YouTube TV apps for Android TV devices like Nvidia Shield, TVs with Android TV included such as devices from Sony, Xbox One devices. In the coming weeks, it will launch an app for other smart TVs from LG, Samsung and Sony as well as Apple TV.
Dive Insight:
The market for streaming TV options geared toward cord-cutters and consumers looking for an alternative to cable or satellite paid TV is fairly crowded. The stakes in this space are high for Google as cord-cutting continues and consumers' content consumption habits become increasingly multichannel, leading marketers to put a higher premium on being able to deliver tightly integrated multichannel campaigns.
The search giant is throwing its considerable weight around in an attempt to gain a strong foothold in live TV. Google is making use of the World Series for a major YouTube TV marketing push as a sponsor that includes in-stadium signage and a two-minute spot that ran before the first pitch of the first game in the Series featuring live footage.
Google faces some challenges with YouTube TV, including that some of its competitors may not open their arms for the service. The TechCrunch report said there were no details about when it might be arriving on other platforms such as Roku and Amazon’s Fire TV and pointed out Google and Amazon currently have a contentious relationship after Google pulled YouTube support for Amazon’s Echo Show devices. As a result, a Fire TV version of YouTube TV might not be in Google’s near-term plans.
