YouTube TV multiview feature will work with more than just sports content

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(Image credit: Keegan Prosser / Android Central)

What you need to know

  • YouTube TV has begun testing multiview with content outside sports.
  • Up to five new multiview streams, including news, sports, weather, and more, will be available.
  • These will comprise various preselected groupings, which users will not be able to customize.

YouTube TV is testing new multiview streams on its Home tab for a limited number of users, the streaming giant announced on Twitter. The update will allow users to watch multiple streams at once that aren't just limited to sports. This includes around-the-clock news, sports, business news, weather, and Deportes.

As showcased in the announcement tweet, YouTube TV viewers across Android and Google TV could watch these streams side-by-side, which can help avoid missing out on content.

The rollout of these streams will happen gradually this summer after a test period with a small group of users. However, it seems like users won't be able to customize these streams and will have to make do with preselected groupings, to the chagrin of some users who tweeted about the feature, asking for the ability to choose programs that they want to see in these multi-streams.

While acknowledging the feedback, Team YouTube's Twitter handle has indicated that they are only offering a pre-defined list of multiview streams. However, the statement seemed to leave the door open to the possibility of that changing down the road.

In addition, the team stated that multiview would only be available for living room devices rather than mobile or web versions.

Multiview on YouTube TV allows viewers to "switch audio and captions between streams, and jump in and out of a full screen view of a game," YouTube TV stated during early access of the feature back in March.

It's also a big deal for NFL fans, as the company has confirmed that it will bring multiview to NFL Sunday Ticket on both YouTube TV and Primetime channels. Earlier this month, the company announced that it would allow more than two concurrent streams so that a household can watch several games at once.

Vishnu Sarangapurkar
News Writer

Vishnu works as a freelance News Writer for Android Central. For the past four years, he's been writing about consumer technology, primarily involving smartphones, laptops, and every other gizmo connected to the Internet. When he is away from keyboard, you can see him going on a long drive or chilling on a couch binge-watching some crime series.