A new YouTube TV channel recognizes the popularity of ambient videos on the internet. By flipping over to YouTube TV Zen, viewers can watch a stream of relaxing content featuring pleasant things like landscapes, baby animals, and soft sounds.
YouTube TV subscribers can add the Zen channel to their Custom Live Guide. A direct link is also available.
The channel is inspired by a series of short videos that sometimes pop up during ad breaks on YouTube TV. In response to fan requests, YouTube compiled those scenes on a central hub so that viewers can access them 24/7. The appeal isn’t hard to see: In cold weather, it’s nice to see a crackling fireplace in between Liberty Mutual ads.
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The embrace of “zen” content on YouTube TV follows a trend set on the web-based version of YouTube. That’s where ambient videos — whether they be soundscapes, podcasts, or Lofi Girl streams — are popular choices for viewers who want to study, chill, relax, or just have something on while they putter around.
YouTube TV’s ability to translate YouTube trends to the premium streaming environment is one of the reasons why it has become such a popular choice for cord cutters. And in turn, the growth of YouTube on TV screens brings more views back to creators who meet the need for background viewing material. That cycle, as much as subscriber feedback, is responsible for the launch of YouTube TV Zen.
If chill streams are totally your jam but you’re not a YouTube TV subscriber, you can always head over to Netflix. That’s where a whole category of “slow TV” lives, and it can satisfy your wish to experience an eight-hour train ride through a scenic landscape.
