Guide redesign is live, library refresh rolling out now
Google’s YouTube TV has quickly risen to become the largest live streaming service in the US by offering an entirely internet-based alternative to traditional TV subscriptions. Features like a la carte programming and a cheap 4K tier have helped drive growth since its launch in 2017, but a top-tier user experience has always been one of the service’s main strengths when compared to cable and satellite. To help maintain its edge in this category, YouTube TV is currently rolling out significant revamps to two of its interfaces users interact with most.
The Library and Live views at the top of the main menu are receiving updated looks and some new features in the latest update for the big-screen version of the app — meanwhile, the smartphone app largely remains unchanged. Starting with the Live tab, you’ll now notice a more condensed layout in the programming list and a new set of curated recommendations across the top. Once you start scrolling, this is replaced by a summary and thumbnail of the highlighted show.
The Library tab is getting a new section aimed at helping you quickly “Catch up on your favorites” — this represents YouTube TV’s best guess for the shows, movies, and events you’ll want to jump into next. Filters are now placed below this new shelf of recommendations, and the rest of the shows in your library will be beneath that. In both views, long-pressing a title will now bring up a compact side sheet with relevant actions and a brief summary, and pressing the back button on your remote will simply dismiss this overlay without taking you away from the page you were previously viewing.
The changes to the Live tab appear to be available to all users already, but the Library tweaks are still in the process of rolling out. As with most YouTube TV interface updates, the switch should be made with a server-side update, so you’ll just need to reload the app when the Library changes do go live. Here’s hoping for even more like this down the road, as it’s the little quality of life improvements like these that helped YouTube TV top our list of the best values in streaming services.
