YouTube TV will launch Roku and Apple TV apps in early 2018

Cable TV cord-cutters expecting YouTube TV's full app for Roku and Apple TV devices this year will have to wait a little longer.

David Katzmaier Editorial Director -- Personal Tech

David reviews TVs and leads the Personal Tech team at CNET, covering mobile, software, computing, streaming and home entertainment. We provide helpful, expert reviews, advice and videos on what gadget or service to buy and how to get the most out of it.

Expertise A 20-year CNET veteran, David has been reviewing TVs since the days of CRT, rear-projection and plasma. Prior to CNET he worked at Sound & Vision magazine and eTown.com. He is known to two people on Twitter as the Cormac McCarthy of consumer electronics. Credentials

Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.

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David Katzmaier

Dec. 19, 2017 6:41 a.m. PT

2 min read

YouTube TV finally has a full app, but the rollout to various TV devices is taking longer than originally planned.

The apps for Roku and Apple TV , originally slated to launch before the end of 2017, are now scheduled for the first quarter of 2018. Also planned for the Q1 timeframe, a YouTube representative told me, are apps for older smart TVs , namely Samsung sets from 2014 and 2015, and Sony TVs that use the older Linux-based operating system, as opposed to Android TV.

YouTube TV is a $35-per-month live TV service aimed at cable cord-cutters. Unlike the free YouTube you know so well, populated by cat videos, how-tos and myriad independent channels and shows, YouTube TV is a direct competitor to cable TV.

Available in more than 80 cities nationwide, it offers local TV channels such as ABC, CBS , Fox and NBC as well as cable stalwarts like AMC, ESPN, the Disney Channel, Fox News and Bravo. (Disclosure: CBS is the parent company of CNET and Showtime.)

YouTube TV app 04 — YouTube TV's big-screen app debuted first on Android TV, but won't arrive on Roku or Apple TV until next year.
YouTube

In addition to iOS and Android phones and tablets , and PC browsers, YouTube TV is currently available via the following TV-connected devices. All of them, except Chromecast, use the new big-screen app that debuted in October.

Chromecast (including Chromecast built-in TVs from Vizio and others)
Xbox One
Android TV (including Nvidia Shield and newer Sony TVs)
Samsung 2016 and 2017 smart TVs
LG 2016 and 2017 smart TVs

Meanwhile, YouTube TV's competitors, including Sling TV, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue and DirecTV Now, are all currently available on most of the same devices, as well as Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV . The YouTube TV representative told me there are currently no plans for Fire TV or PlayStation apps.

Separately, YouTube has said it will pull its main, free YouTube app (the one with the cat videos and stuff) from Fire TV devices by the end of 2018.

Update, 11:20 a.m. ET: The headline previously read "YouTube TV delays its Roku and Apple TV apps to 2018" and was updated following a clarification by YouTube TV's representative of its original statement on timing.

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