YouTube TV Eclipses 5 Million Subscribers
YouTube TV launched five years ago.?
Sarah Tew/CNET
YouTube TV just hit 5 million subscribers, YouTube said Tuesday, including paying members and accounts on a free trial.?
The announcement underlines YouTube TV’s lead in the live-television streaming market, a segment that surged about eight years ago but has since struggled with sluggish growth. Live-channel services like YouTube TV were once seen as the natural successor to expensive cable and satellite subscriptions for cord-cutters. But TV customers have instead gravitated to cheaper, on-demand streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus and HBO Max, while most live-channel services have only grown more expensive.?
Read more:?Best Live TV Streaming Service for Cord-Cutters in 2022
YouTube TV’s number of subscribers bests the 4.1 million subscribers of rival Hulu Live as of April 2. Other competitors include Dish Network-owned Sling TV, which was at 2.25 million members at the end of March, and Fubo TV, which has around 1.06 million subscribers.?
YouTube launched its live TV platform five years ago, and it’s now available with 100-plus channels, unlimited cloud DVR space, Spanish language content, and a family plan.?
Along with the 5 million subscriber announcement came a Top 5 list of the most DVR’d shows:
- Yellowstone.
- Saturday Night Live.
- This Is Us.
- 60 Minutes.
- Grey’s Anatomy.
The announcement also included a Top 5 of the series “viewers are nostalgic for”:
- Friends.
- The Office.
- Two and a Half Men.
- Big Bang Theory.
- Everybody Loves Raymond.