YouTube TV app coming to Apple TV for the big screen

YouTube TV will be coming to Apple TV as a standalone app in the coming weeks, Google announced Monday.

In a blog posting, the company said it would first release a YouTube TV app on Android TV devices including Nvidia Shield, TVs with Android TV built-in, such as Sony, as well as on the Xbox One family of devices.

Shortly thereafter – the company said “in the coming weeks” but was no more specific – it plans to launch the new app on Smart TVs, such as LG, Samsung, Sony, along with one for Apple TV.

YouTube TV is a live streaming TV service that launched in April of this year and is currently available in 50 U.S. cities. The service offers 52 channels including many local NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox affiliates for a flat fee of $35 a month with no contract. Its main features include a Cloud-based DVR with no storage limits for up to nine months at no additional charge and six accounts per household. Channels like HBO, CNN, TBS, TNT, Comedy Central, MTV, HGTV, and Food Network, to name just a few, are not available on YouTube TV.

The addition of a dedicated app for Apple TV will be welcome news for YouTube TV subscribers who until now could only broadcast the service to televisions via Apple’s AirPlay wireless streaming feature on iOS devices using the iOS-based YouTube TV app.

One of the services main drawbacks has been the lack of a dedicated app for various smart TVs and set-top boxes like Apple TV. Instead, YouTube has opted to focus its efforts on the YouTube TV mobile app and Google Chromecast device to feed the service to TVs. The announcement is an admission that while a younger demographic is watching television more on mobile devices, there is still a large segment of viewers wanting to view streaming TV networks through a dedicated television.

Just last week the company announced Youtube was being watched on living room TVs over 100 million hours every day and that the company was happy with its initial reception of YouTube TV. “Given where we are, I’m really excited about the initial reception,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai said about YouTube TV.

The announcement of dedicated apps does not mean the service is going nationwide, like Sling TV or Hulu with Live TV. YouTube TV will still be limited for subscription to the top 50 metro markets, covering over two-thirds of the U.S.