YouTube has stepped up its assault on the living room by making thousands of TV shows available to stream for free.
In a new blog post, the Alphabet/Google-owned streaming giant explains that it’s making nearly 4,000 episodes of some top TV shows available to watch online for free. These are full seasons of established shows such as Hell’s Kitchen, Andromeda, and Heartland, and many are available in 1080p with 5.1 surround sound audio on supported devices.
There are a couple of catches, of course. One is that you’ll have to be willing to watch ads if you’re to watch these shows for free, which might grate with some YouTube Premium subscribers used to watching traditional YouTube content blissfully ad-free.
Even more annoying, however, is the fact that only YouTube users in the US can watch this content right now. We’re assuming this is a simple overseas rights issue.
Alongside these new TV shows, YouTube is supplying a new and streamlined navigation system, as well as “immersive banner art”.
YouTube is promising up to 100 new titles each week, which includes movies as well as TV shows. It already offers around 1,500 movies to watch for free with ads.
US YouTube users can access these TV shows for free now on web browsers, smartphones, and the majority of smart TVs that run the YouTube on TV app.
You might like…
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
