No streaming platform can satisfy every subscriber’s needs. That’s why many households subscribe to multiple services simultaneously, while others switch between platforms seasonally. 

Each one has something slightly different, but enough to make users want to have it as well. 

For example, Netflix, the streamer with the highest number of subscribers, some 300 million, differentiates itself with original programming and a massive library of films and TV shows. However, one type of content it lacks (but which YouTube TV has) is live TV and sports channels. 

Google’s YouTube TV may be the most similar to traditional cable services, offering live TV and focusing on sports. 

Amazon Prime Video is perhaps something in between, offering a mix of original content, movies, and sports; however, its range of live TV options and regional sports is not as extensive as YouTube TV’s. 

In fact, YouTube TV’s impressive subscriber growth over the past few years is attributed mostly to its affordability and sports offering. And the streamer just keeps improving, often responding to users’ feedback. 

It recently made two important moves. First, it quietly added two more sports channels just before the 2026 Winter Olympics (Feb. 6, 2026) — NBCSN 2 and NBCSN 3. Then it improved the user experience on Android and iOS apps. 

Now, its subscribers are asking for another improvement. 

YouTube TV subscribers have been asking for a Live button on the TV interface for five years.

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YouTube TV subscribers ask for Live button on TV interface 

One YouTube TV subscriber, Reddit user reddilator, recently started a discussion on the platform, urging an improvement to YouTube TV’s interface. The user politely asked for a simple Live button that would allow them to catch up more quickly with true live content.

“I know this has been brought up before, so I’m re-venting in the hopes someone from the Googles will take notice (yeah, I know it’s unlikely). While watching all the awesome NFL playoff football this weekend, I’m finding it SO annoying that if I pause it at all — and then come back, I have to manually slide the slider “as far to the right as I can” to get caught up to true ‘live,’” the user said. 

The user further reported that when they manually go to live, it sometimes seems to be right, but at other times, it’s a little behind. 

For reddilator, this causes significant issues watching live televised sports, as they also track their favorite teams in various apps. Sometimes, they get notified of score changes several seconds before the actual play is shown, “even though I’m as live as I can be.”

The only way to get to the “real live” is by quitting the app, relaunching, and re-selecting the channel, or at the very least, switching channels and going back. 

“Anyhow, just give me a live button. Please. Pretty-please. I’m done now. Thank you for listening,” reddilator concluded. 

The thread gained 162 likes and more than 70 comments, suggesting that the request resonated with many subscribers. 

This isn’t the first time YouTube TV users pushed for a change  

The core issue seems to be that YouTube TV’s TV interface is missing practical and intuitive Live buttons that would allow subscribers, in one click, to instantly “jump” back to the real-time stream. 

This is not the first time the issue has been raised. There is another discussion on Reddit from one year ago, started by user TheDeepBlueZ and titled “Is it too much to ask for a Go Live button.” The thread got 400 likes and more than 60 comments. 

Overall sentiment in both threads reveals that users agree that the Live feature should be a standard part of the user interface (UI) and that all the workarounds are impractical. 

In fact, the matter was brought to the public’s attention quite a few times, and Android Authority even wrote about it in January 2025. 

As the outlet and some users mention, YouTube TV does have a “Live” option on other platforms, such as mobile or desktop, so it’s reasonable to question why the same feature couldn’t be added for smart TV. 

There’s even a thread from five years ago discussing the same issue. One user reported it to the YouTube TV team and reportedly got the following response.

 “We appreciate your feature requests to further improve our service. We’re always eager to hear your thoughts on how we can further make our service excellent. No worries, I made sure your voice is heard so I’d let our product team know about this so they’re aware that certain users are inquiring for this option.” 

Fast forward to five years later, when users continue to demand the upgrade. 

“I didn’t realize this is an old topic, and I was thinking of posting a question about how to do this. It’s annoying that Amazon Prime Video has it figured out but not YTTV. I watched the Bears/Packers game and it worked much more intuitively for watching a live broadcast,” user sanjosanjo wrote. 

YouTube TV previously responded to other user feedback 

I frequently write about YouTube TV, and in December, I covered several upgrades, including one that was made in response to user demands. The streamer improved its Multiview feature, as it previously contained one annoying characteristic: a noticeable sound icon or a bright border around the active audio channel.

The problem was that the icon and border remained visible for the entire viewing session, which, for many subscribers, was very distracting. After the improvement, the highlight still appears when a user first starts the Multiview feature or switches audio to a different feed, but it quickly fades away. It appears only when a subscriber changes focus again. 

More Entertainment:

• YouTube TV rolls out major improvements for select users
• Amazon Prime Video introduces major free upgrade for US subscribers
• HBO Max unveils new way to watch beloved shows
• Apple TV adds key feature Netflix dropped

The improvements rolled out quietly to nearly all devices, including Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, Samsung, Android TV, LG, Vizio Smart Television, and the YouTube TV app on PlayStation and Xbox consoles. 

Many subscribers were thrilled with the improvement, saying they love the cleaner Multiview.

The high cost of UI friction in the streaming wars

For sports-focused subscribers, YouTube TV’s Multiview feature is an important perk during major sports events.

YouTube TV’s Multiview feature gives it a distinct advantage over competitors. While other services offer multi-screen viewing, YouTube TV allows users to customize their experience with its “Build a Multiview” option, offering greater flexibility in channel selection.

Recent updates, including new sports channels, bundles, and Multiview improvements, indicate YouTube TV’s focus on attracting sports fans — a smart move, given that many cord-cutters are looking for sports content.

According to the 2025 Deloitte Digital Media Trends survey, 43% of Gen Z and millennials are willing to pay more for streaming services with live sports, although how much they engage with it remains unclear.

Given that YouTube TV’s content is largely focused on live and sports offerings, suggesting that the majority of its subscribers are sports enthusiasts, it’s hard to comprehend that the streamer hasn’t implemented a Live button on its TV platform for years.  

If we consider that the Live option exists on its other platforms, and that the streamer is known to respond to user feedback, this makes the situation even stranger, especially at a time of fierce competition among streaming giants. 

As mentioned earlier, users are comparing the service, and some already mentioned how, due to its lack of a Live button, YouTube TV lags behind Amazon Prime Video. 

Industry data show that subscribers are not reluctant to switch between the streaming providers depending on the content they want at the moment, or due to special promotional deals.  

“The market is very much in flux,” Alan Wolk, media analyst and co-founder of research firm TVREV, told Business Insider. “You have some people leaving, and some people coming in, depending on what they want to watch.”

It’s safe to assume that frustration with a problem already resolved by other platforms could also lead some users to unsubscribe. 

Based on YouTube TV’s history of responding to Multiview complaints, a UI update for the Live button is likely, though the five-year delay suggests a deeper technical or design hurdle.

Related: Major streamers fight churn with limited-time offers as prices rise