With nearly 10 million paid subscribers, YouTube TV faces challenges in satisfying a variety of demands. Some viewers prefer sports channels, some favor dramas, some watch content only on their phones, and others can’t imagine movies without a large screen and high-quality speakers. 

A streaming service succeeds when it can meet the needs of most of its users. The best services stand out because they listen to viewer demands and take action to address them.

Netflix is doing a great job growing its subscriber base; however, paradoxically, it often makes changes viewers hate. 

Over the past few months, YouTube TV made several improvements and announced important changes and deals including: 

  • Launched a new 24/7 NBC Sports Network channel (linear relaunch). 
  • Added live C-SPAN, C-SPAN2, and C-SPAN3 to the base lineup.
  • Announced cheaper, genre-based plans coming in early 2026, including a sports tier featuring NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL.
  • Rolled out a limited-time Verizon promo at $62.99/month for six months.
  • Introduced another new-subscriber deal at $67.99/month for five months (regularly $82.99).
  • Added two more sports channels: NBCSN 2 and NBCSN3. 
  • Improved user experience on Android and IOS apps. 

Now, Google’s streaming platform confirmed another major upgrade subscribers wanted. 

YouTube TV’s Multiview feature is no longer restricted to certain channel pairings.

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YouTube TV’s Multiview gets its biggest upgrade yet

Less than two months after YouTube TV surprised its subscribers with a long-awaited Multiview feature improvement, the streamer has now confirmed another major upgrade. In his annual letter to users, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced the launch of fully customizable Multiview. 

“Building on our success in the living room, we’re driven by the simple belief that TV should be easy. We’ll soon launch fully customizable multiview and more than 10 specialized YouTube TV plans spanning sports, entertainment and news, all designed to give subscribers more control,” Mohan wrote. 

Although it previously limited Multiview to preset channel combinations, the YouTube TV feature is no longer restricted to certain channel pairings. This will enable subscribers to customize their screen, selecting and arranging up to four live channels of their choice. 

Viewers will be able to mix sports, news, cooking shows, or financial market updates. 

“This development addresses long-standing user requests for greater freedom in how they consume live TV, particularly during overlapping events where subscribers couldn’t create or find a multiview with the channels they wanted,” writes Cord Cutters News’ Luke Bouma. 

Previous Multiview improvement made following subscriber complaints

In December 2025, YouTube TV quietly rolled out an improvement users had been asking for, and subscribers noticed the upgrade immediately.

Until the refinement, the feature contained one annoying characteristic: a noticeable sound icon or a bright border around the active audio channel. The issue was that the icon and border remained visible for the entire viewing session, which many subscribers found distracting and annoying. 

After the enhancement, the highlight still appears when a user first starts the Multiview feature or switches audio to a different feed, but the highlight quickly fades away. It reappears only when a subscriber changes focus again. 

How to use Multiview on YouTube TV

  • Open Multiview: While watching eligible content, press down on your remote and select Multiview.
  • Add Channels: At the bottom, choose content to add from the available options.
  • Set Active Audio: To hear a specific channel, select its view. The active audio icon shows which channel is playing sound.
  • Full Screen: To expand a channel, select the view with active audio and press select. Press back to return to Multiview.
  • Exit Multiview: Press down, select the Networks tab, and choose a network, or simply press back.
    Source: YouTube TV Help

What makes YouTube TV’s Multiview upgrade important?

I previously wrote about how YouTube TV’s Multiview feature is recognized as one of its key advantages over other streamers. While some other providers also offer their own multi-screen viewing, their service appears to be lagging behind YouTube TV, mostly due to its “Build a Multiview” option. 

Considering that the “Build a Multiview” option now has been further upgraded to include even more channels, this represents another strategic win for YouTube TV. 

More Entertainment:

  • YouTube TV faces growing backlash as users demand key upgrade
  • Major streamers fight churn with limited-time offers as prices rise
  • Amazon Prime Video introduces major free upgrade for US subscribers
  • HBO Max unveils new way to watch beloved shows

After all, users have been asking for this for a long time.

“The ‘Build a Multiview’ is great,” user WKRPinPhiladelphia wrote two months ago. “One thing that I think that can make it better are making even more channels available to add to our build. The selections are great. But they can get even better and include even more options. This Build a Multiview option is by far the best available. Disney could definitely learn some things to make the ESPN extremely limited multiviews so much better.” 

The Multiview feature is commonly used by sports fans who want to watch a few sporting events at the same time. What’s more, according to the Deloitte Center for Technology, Media & Telecommunications 2025 Digital Media Trends survey, “forty-three percent of Gen Z and millennials surveyed indicate a willingness to pay more for streaming video subscriptions that include access to live sports.”

Industry data only confirms the importance of sports offering and perks like Multiview, suggesting that once again, YouTube TV knows very well what it is doing.

YouTube TV is on track to become largest pay-TV operator in U.S. by 2027 

There’s another important update users are eagerly waiting to roll out, and one that YouTube CEO Mohan also confirmed in the new letter: 10 specialized YouTube TV plans spanning sports, entertainment, and news. 

The streamer first announced these bundles back in November, when it said it would launch a dedicated sports-only package. Then in December, it unveiled more details, revealing that it would launch more than 10 genre-specific packages, aiming to provide more choice and flexibility to subscribers. 

Per the report, the YouTube TV Sports Plan will include the following.

  •     FS1
  •     NBC Sports Network 
  •     All ESPN Networks 
  •     ESPN Unlimited 

The details of its other genre-specific offerings should be revealed soon. 

Strategic moves like these that directly answer users’ demands are what helps YouTube TV grow its subscriber base. 

“YouTube TV will surpass Charter and Comcast to become the largest pay-TV operator in the United States by 2027, marking the first time a virtual pay-TV provider will claim the top position in the market,” according to December 2025 data from Omdia. 

Related: ESPN delivers bad news for some subscribers