YouTube TV Adds 14 New Markets To Reach 50% Of US Households

Four months after it first launched, YouTube TV is making a big move into living rooms around the country. The so-called “skinny bundle,” which includes access to close to 50 TV channels, a YouTube Red subscription, and unlimited cloud-based DVR for $35 per month, has entered 14 new markets, bringing its total coverage of the US population up to 50%.

At launch, YouTube TV was available in just five metropolitan areas, but a July expansion brought it to ten more regions across the country. The latest update brings YouTube TV’s total market count up to 29, and gives consumers in the following cities access to the skinny bundle: Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Columbus (OH), Jacksonville-Brunswick, Las Vegas, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Seattle-Tacoma, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota, and West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce.

YouTube plans to open up its TV service to even more markets in the near future. In the coming weeks, it will go live in Austin, Birmingham, Cleveland-Akron, Denver, Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem, Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, Hartford-New Haven, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, Oklahoma City, Raleigh-Durham, Salt Lake City, San Diego,  and St. Louis.

By opening its doors to consumers in those areas, YouTube TV will be able to reach a healthy majority of the US population. There are no details yet, however, about when YouTube TV might arrive for international audiences.

The latest update to YouTube TV also brings two new channels into its lineup. The well-timed addition of the Tennis Channel comes two weeks before the start of the US Open, but the more exciting of YouTube TV’s new partnerships is with Newsy. The social-savvy media organization has been eager to expand its presence on TV, and a spot within YouTube TV’s roster is a good step forward in that regard. In addition, Newsy is owned by E.W. Scripps. Scripps Media Interactive, which was spun off from that company in 2008, has been a notable holdout from the YouTube TV lineup. Scripps channels like HGTV and Food Network are not yet available for YouTube TV subscribers, even though they available on a competing offering from Hulu.

In total, YouTube TV subscriptions now include access to 48 channels.