YouTube TV grows, now services 15 markets and serves 48 channels to iPhone

YouTube has expanded its live television service to 10 more markets, and boosted the number of available nationwide channels to 48 including BBC America, Syfy, plus assorted sports and news channels.

Denizens of the Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C. metro areas now have the service available.

Announced in February, YouTube TV launched in April and was originally only available to use in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Users have to be physically located in one of those areas to sign up and gain access to the streaming video, due to licensing restrictions from content owners, including blackouts for sporting events.

Up to six accounts can be created under a subscription, allowing it to be used by an entire family, with up to three streams viewable at a time. subscribers will have access to a cloud DVR with unlimited space, and will include a recommendation system using Google's AI-powered recommendation engine.

Customers signing up using the iOS app on an iPhone or iPad will end up paying more than the publicized $35 monthly fee. The support page advises that it is possible to sign up through in-app purchase, but it will cost $39.99 plus tax per month, an increase to take into account Apple's cut of App Store transactions.

As part of the service's launch, Google is offering a free Chromecast to YouTube TV members, if they pay the first month's subscription after the 30-day free trial. Participants have to redeem the offer within 30 days of the payment in order to get the Chromecast, with Google also covering the shipping costs.

YouTube TV is fighting with similar offerings from Sling TV, DirecTV Now, and PlayStation Vue, while a service from Verizon is also expected to launch in the coming months.

The YouTube TV app is free, takes 88MB of device storage space, and requires iOS 9.1 or later. There is still no Apple TV app for the service.