How To Watch 4K TV Shows & Sports On YouTube TV

YouTube TV announced that it was adding support for 4K content earlier this year. But not everything is available in 4K, and you won’t get it with the base plan. In fact, you will need to pay a bit more to get 4K content on YouTube TV. So we’re going to show you how exactly you can watch 4K content on YouTube TV, and which channels support it.

4K on YouTube TV is a really great experience, and it will continue to expand over the coming months.

How To Watch 4K TV Shows & Sports On YouTube TV

To get 4K content on YouTube TV, you’re going to need to subscribe to the 4K Plus add-on with YouTube TV.

To do this, tap on your profile icon in the upper-right hand corner.

Then tap on Settings.

Next tap on Membership – this should be highlighted by default.

Now, you’ll see your base plan, with “4K Plus” below it. Tap on “Add”.

On this next screen, Google will tell you a bit more about 4K Plus. Currently it is offering the add-on for $9.99 per month instead of $19.99 per month for the first 12 months. So there’s some fine print for that. Basically, you get the first month for free, and then half off for the next 12 months. Which is a really incredible promo. YouTube TV does also pro-rate after your free trial is over, so that you only get charged once a month for YouTube TV.

Tap on Purchase, and you’ll be all set.

You’ll get an email sent to your email about this add-on and you’re all set. Now you have 4K on YouTube TV.

What is included in the 4K Plus add-on?

The YouTube TV 4K Plus add-on is a bit more than just 4K content though. You will also get unlimited concurrent streams at home. And the ability to download DVR content for offline viewing. This only works on mobile devices.

The ability to download content to watch offline is perhaps the most important part of this add-on. Even more important than having 4K support.

It’s worth noting that not all networks support offline viewing for recordings. Head to Settings and then Downloads to see what networks are available. Some networks also have screen limits, so while you have unlimited concurrent screens, some networks may not agree with that. You can see these by going to Settings and then taping on Screen Limits.

How to download an episode?

Open your Library in YouTube TV.

Tap into a show.

Now, you’ll see a download icon next to each episode that is able to be downloaded. Tap on that icon to download.

Note: This only works on mobile – so Android and iOS only.

How much storage do offline episodes take up?

Shows will download at 720p quality, by default. These will take up around 750MB per hour.

You can, however up the resolution to 1080p for some shows, which will use more space of course. You also have the ability to lower this to 480p for saving even more space.

How to find programs in 4K

Currently, 4K is only available on a handful of networks. Both live and on-demand. Those include:

• Discovery
• ESPN
• FOX Sports
• FX
• Nat Geo
• NBC Sports
• Tastemade

To find 4K content from these channels, just search on YouTube TV like normal. If they are in 4K, you will see a 4K icon next to them. You also have the ability to search for “4K” to find all the 4K content on YouTube TV.

Surprisingly, right now there is only one movie available in 4K on YouTube TV, and that is Sea of Shadows. Which was released in 2019. That will likely change in the near future however.

What devices support 4K on YouTube TV?

Another important aspect here is that not all devices support 4K streaming with YouTube TV. The list is pretty short.

Here are the smart TVs that support 4K YouTube TV:

• 4K Android TV models from brands like Sony Bravia, Hisense and TCL.
• Samsung, LG and Hisense 4K Smart TVs (2016 models and later)

The list for streaming devices is pretty short as well:

• Chromecast with Google TV
• Roku Streaming devices (capable of 4K)
• Apple TV 4K (2021)
• PlayStation 4 Pro
• Amazon Fire 4K Stick (1st Gen – 2018)
• NVIDIA SHIELD TV

Google also notes that 4K is only available for select content on the Apple TV and PS4 Pro. Some programs may stream in lower resolution on those devices.

Will YouTube TV add more 4K content?

Yes, of course they will.

This is just the start of 4K for YouTube TV. There’s only a handful of channels that support 4K right now, but that will expand in the future.

A lot of newer shows are being shot in 4K HDR, so it won’t be super surprising to see more and more TV shows being streamed in 4K. But remember, that streaming in 4K is going to use more bandwidth. So if you do not have an unlimited plan with your ISP, this could cost you more cash.

Sports will likely transition to 4K ahead of TV shows. We’ve already seen quite a few leagues adopting 4K. Fubo TV actually has a lot of 4K sports available. So it’s only a matter of time until that comes to YouTube TV. As long as YouTube TV doesn’t lose any more sports networks.

4K looks very crisp, and the fact that we can stream 4K content live onto our TV is pretty incredible.