YouTube TV remains the largest live TV streaming (vMVPD) service in the U.S., driven by a big channel lineup, unlimited DVR, and new lower-cost plan options introduced in 2026.
youtube tv statistics
Top YouTube TV Statistics (2026)
Subscribers: Industry estimates place YouTube TV at ~9.3 million subscribers at the end of 2025, while other reports put it at 10+ million as of November 2025.
Base plan price: The main YouTube TV plan is commonly listed at $82.99/month.
New lower-cost plans (2026): YouTube introduced genre-based packages, including Entertainment ($54.99), Sports ($64.99), and Sports + News ($71.99) per month.
Unlimited DVR: YouTube TV includes unlimited cloud DVR storage, and recordings are typically kept for 9 months.
Household sharing: YouTube TV supports sharing with a family group (commonly up to 6 accounts total, i.e., the manager + up to 5 members).
Simultaneous streams: The base experience is widely listed as up to 3 concurrent streams.
Launch year: YouTube TV launched in 2017.
Availability: YouTube TV is U.S.-only and requires a home area setup for local channels.
Competitive scale: Recent public estimates for key competitors include Hulu + Live TV (~4.4M), Sling (~1.9M), and Fubo (~1.5M).
YouTube TV Pricing (2026 Plans)
The 2026 plan lineup introduced lower-cost packages below the standard Base plan price, letting subscribers trade breadth for savings.
Plan
Bar
Monthly Price (USD)
Entertainment plan
$54.99
Sports plan
$64.99
Sports + News plan
$71.99
Base plan
$82.99
Max = $82.99. Widths: Entertainment plan 66.26%, Sports plan 78.31%, Sports + News plan 86.75%, Base plan 100.00%.
YouTube TV vs. Other Live TV Streaming Services (Recent Subscriber Estimates)
Among major vMVPD competitors that report or are widely estimated, YouTube TV leads by a wide margin.
Service
Bar
Subscribers (Millions)
YouTube TV
9.3
Hulu + Live TV
4.4
Sling TV
1.9
Fubo
1.5
Max = 9.3M. Widths: YouTube TV 100.00%, Hulu + Live TV 47.31%, Sling TV 20.43%, Fubo 16.13%.
What’s Driving YouTube TV Growth
Bundling strategy: New genre-based plans aim to reduce “sticker shock” while keeping popular features like DVR and multiview.
Sports positioning: Sports-focused packaging and major add-ons (like NFL Sunday Ticket) help defend against seasonal churn.
Feature parity: Unlimited DVR, household profiles, and reliable local-channel coverage remain major differentiators versus slimmer bundles.
Sources
YouTube Official Blog (2026): Announcement of genre-based YouTube TV plans and pricing.
YouTube TV Website / Product Pages: Unlimited DVR and recording retention details.
Google Support: Family group sharing rules for YouTube TV.
Omdia (Dec 2025): U.S. pay-TV market snapshot and YouTube TV subscriber estimate.
