Youtube TV - the way TV should be

In Water Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs - there is a not of how Jobs believed that he had ‘figured out’ TV. Well, if he did figure it out, it ins’t really what Apple TV is but a good chance that YouTube TV is.

I’d a classic Verizon Fios cable user for years. I liked the cable interface because I like to pause live TV and then forward through ads. Streaming services don’t usually support this for live events. However, everything else about Verizon Fios TV was awful. Awful website, awful app, awful cable box, awful DVR, awful login for streaming apps, no ability to easily stream on mobile devices. Requires Verizon Wifi router at home. Just archaic.

I’d hear people talk about YouTube TV for some time. Though it was mostly in the context of price and not much in terms of features. For 2026, I decided to give it a shot to see if I can put an end to my misery with Verizon. I am now in the 3rd month with it and I love it! It is exactly the way TV in the internet age should be.

It is like ‘traditional’ cable TV in the sense that you subscribe to a package and you get a bunch of channels and you can add more for additional money. However, where it really shines for me is sports. Instead of searching for a specific channel and a specific sport (which for NFL is a complete nightmare as games are spread across many channels) and then booking a series and controlling the number of recordings and managing what you want to record - first runs/ replays - etc. It is just practically impossible to properly manage. with YouTube TV - you just say - I like or want to add US Open Tennis. And then it just records it! Who cares what channels it is on. Who cares what time. Same with NFL - just add it! I have probably watched more sports in the last two months than I’ve done in past years. It is just so easy. Every time you open the app - you always have stuff you can watch and you can always fast forward in a recorded shows. No ads at all. Finally. You can watch it from anywhere from any device - all your family members. It is just simple and magical.

While it is functionally great, its user experience is still not great. It is a mess. But I’ve gotten used to it because I love the functionality so much.

Get YouTube TV. It is what TV should be.