What you need to know
- YouTube TV is rolling out customizable multiview, letting users choose which channels to watch together.
- The new interface shows recommended channels and categories like sports, news, shows, movies, and other live content.
- The feature is now rolling out widely for all YouTube TV users in the U.S.
After a few users started spotting it, YouTube TV has now officially confirmed that it has started rolling out a feature that lets users customize which channels appear in the multiview view.
Earlier this year, YouTube TV announced plans to make multiview more flexible, alongside introducing new pricing bundles for specific content. While those bundles, like the $64.99/month Sports plan and $54.99/month Entertainment plan are already live, customizable multiview streams are now starting to show up as well.
First spotted by a Reddit user and now detailed by Google in the blog post, the multiview feature in the YouTube TV app on smart TVs now lets you customize what you want to see in it.
Now, when you open multiview, you'll see a list of recommended channels along with your current selections at the top. There are also categories like Recommended, Sports, News, TV shows, and Movies to make it easier to browse. You can essentially add whatever live content you want into your multiview setup.
That said, there are still some limitations. Multiview is designed only for live content, which means you can't add video-on-demand or DVR content right now. Some family-friendly content also isn't eligible for customization. And YouTube says a small number of older devices (less than 5%) won't support the full feature, although they'll still get access during major events like the NFL or World Cup.
Google says the feature is rolling out widely and should be available to most YouTube TV users in the U.S. already. If you don't see it yet, it's likely a server-side rollout and should show up on your smart TV soon.
If you want to check whether you have it, open a live stream and press the down button on your remote to bring up the multiview menu. You should see an "Add to multiview" option along with sections for recommended channels and different categories.
I genuinely want every live TV platform to copy this. Custom multi-view just makes sense, especially for sports. It also shows YouTube TV is actually listening and taking steps to improve the service after hitting a few bumps recently.
It's a welcome addition, especially for users who like to watch multiple games or events at once. For someone like me, it's particularly useful during football (soccer) matches when multiple games are happening at the same time.
