We live in a world of options. For everything expensive, there’s a cheap alternative. Sure, the alternative may or may not be as good as the original product or service, but most of the time it can get the job done. And the same rules apply to the streaming world as well. While some services predominantly feature on-demand or original content, others offer a live television experience capable of being an ideal cord-cutting service.
YouTube TV is one of the latest video streaming services which has entered the cut-throat world of premium streaming and is trying to hold its own. With 70 channels including news, sports, and entertainment, YouTube TV with its individual package is working towards providing a simplified TV viewing experience.
But has it? It is amongst the most expensive streaming services whose price keeps rising each year. Sure, it’s cheaper than most live TV or cable options, but is it the most comprehensive option out there? These are the sort of questions we are up against when deciding whether or not to subscribe to the service.
Most of us end up searching ‘Is YouTube TV worth it?’ and ‘Should I spend my money on YouTube TV’. Why? Because we’re reluctant to spend our money on an untested product or service, and that’s when we tend to rely on others’ opinions. Every time, search for a YouTube TV-related query, we find one particular community popping up in search results every time, and that’s r/youtubetv.
Today, we’re reviewing r/youtubetv as a community. Can you trust it? Can you count on it? Can it help you make an informed decision?
My recent experience on r/youtubetv
The last time I checked this subreddit was a couple of days ago. There were two posts that I upvoted and both were news. First, the ‘30-Day Trial Extension on YouTube for Showtime, Acorn TV, and related channels’. This post attracted over 50 upvotes and more than 25 people engaged in the comment section. Second, ‘Viacom’s cable networks will be added to YouTube TV this summer’. This attracted more than 330 upvotes and rightly so because Viacom is a massive network. It’s positive news for users who are shelling out more than $40/month for a comprehensive streaming experience.
About r/youtubetv – Community & Members
The community has 39,500 members out of which 370-600 members are online at any given time. This subreddit was created on February 28, 2017, and has grown tremendously in the past couple of years. It’s getting a lot of traction in recent times and it has one of the best members to engagement ratio I’ve seen in a while.
How to access r/youtubetv?
If you’re already a Reddit member, you can simply type ‘r/youtubetv’ in your search bar and join the subreddit. However, if you aren’t well-versed with Reddit and are not present on the platform. You’ll need to create an account and confirm your email address. Once you do so, you’ll be able to follow subreddits, comment on posts, and even post anything on any of the subreddits
Moderators of r/youtubetv
One of the most underwhelming aspects of this website is that it just has a single moderator – ‘7thton’. And if you read my reviews, you’d know that I’m not a big fan of a single person managing a group of over 35,000 members. I’d be a lot happier if there were at least 3 or 4 members to ensure that all the activities on the page are tracked well and improvements are made based upon the feedback. I’m not sure if a single person can manage to do all that by themself.
Why should you follow r/youtubetv?
r/youtubetv does have all the valuable content that you generally search for. I’d recommend this community over any other major reviewing outlet because you’re never going to get the real picture. This community breathes youtube tv and so they know ins and outs of the platform and by gauging their opinions, you’ll know the truth. Furthermore, you’ll find a diverse range of content including news, technical questions, general questions, and some information on other topics related to Roku, Nvidia Shield, and Android Box.
Community Engagement
I seriously applaud the members of this community for maintaining such an amazing engagement rate. Firstly, for a community of 35000+ which has 1% of its members active at any given time – that’s an amazing feat. Quite recently, I reviewed half a dozen services that had more than 80,000 members but not even 0.20% of them were active. So, in terms of community engagement, r/youtubetv is a livewire. For instance, a simple query – ‘Is there a way to make the notifications banner go away faster? Attracted more than 5 comments within a few hours’.
Browsing and Navigation
Though a considerable amount of members are active simultaneously, the sub is not that mainstream yet. So, 300-500 or even 1500-2000 members are not going to affect your browsing or streaming experience. I was on this sub for over 20 minutes and didn’t face any discrepancies at all throughout the testing. Moving across different sections was seamless, sorting the content was easy, and overall this sub offered hassle-free navigation.
Reddit Gold
It’s not just the engagement rate that’s commendable on this platform, it’s the gold distribution as well. I found 3-4 top posts that received gold for the title. In the comments, I was able to find 6-7 golds awarded to the contributors. This allocation ratio is much better as compared to r/badMovies or any of the recently reviewed subreddit. Keep in mind, that this sub has a small following, and even after that, there’s a considerable amount of gold out there.
Related Subreddits
I like it when communities make it easier for users to find quality content in a hassle-free manner. In the sidebar of r/youtubetv, you’ll find a related subreddit section, where you’ll find subreddits that are similar to YouTube TV. In this section, you’ll find five subs – r/cordcutters, r/YouTubeMusic, r/bestofhulu, r/Hulu, and r/PhiloTV.
Filter by flair
If related subreddits make me happy, filter by flair makes it hard to criticize a sub. It’s a sign that the community is active and the mod(s) is/are doing their best to ensure that people can find what they’re looking for within a single click. On r/youtubetv, you’ll find six filter by flair options – ‘News’, ‘Technical Questions’, ‘General Question’, ‘Nvidia Shield’, ‘Android Box’, and ‘Roku’.
Important rules you must know before joining r/youtubetv?
Before you go ahead and join this amazing community. There are certain rules and guidelines that you must follow. The inability to do so might lead to a permaban from this subreddit. So, make sure you read all the rules mentioned below.
1. Be Kind. No offensive or hateful posts/comments
2. Low-quality content will be removed
3. No posts about piracy, account sharing, etc
4. No VPN, ad blocker, or location spoofing posts
5. No needlessly negative or hostile posts about YTTV
6. No NSFW content
Design
r/youtubetv sports a clean design. It has a gray cover image followed by a YouTube logo on a TV. A creative way to demonstrate the channel visually. Under the logo, you have your general ‘Create Post’ menu followed by the standard sorting options – ‘Hot’, ‘New’, ‘Top’, and ‘Rising’. Towards the right, you have the ‘About Community’ section followed by ‘Filter by Flair’, ‘Friends of r/youtubetv’, and ‘Rules’.
Most Upvoted Content on this subreddit
1. Lack of 5.1 is now becoming embarrassing – 375 upvotes
2. PBS targeting a November 4th Launch on YouTube TV – 346 upvotes
3. Viacom’s cable networks will be added to YouTube TV this summer – 332 votes
4. Mega Thread: New Content, New Price – 314 upvotes
5. Be angry at Sinclair, not Google/YTTV – 307 upvotes
Most Upvoted Content 2020
1. YouTube TV will add HBO in the Spring – 308 upvotes
2. Variety: YouTube TV completely gets rid of forced ads for Cloud DVR Recordings – 292 upvotes
3. YouTube TV should include ad-free regular YouTube – 277 upvotes
4. Fox Regional Sports Channels, gone soon – 248 upvotes
5. Thank you Engineers – 240 upvotes
Conclusion
If you want to stay up-to-date with YouTube TV news, features, updates, and more, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t join this community. Though I wasn’t happy that people don’t share critical opinions about the platform, I don’t have any other negative aspect to point out about r/youtubetv.