As YouTube celebrates two decades since its first video upload, the platform is revealing a new feature that will allow YouTube TV members to build their own multiview with select non-sports content in the next few weeks. The functionality will commence with a small group of channels and expand in the months ahead. At the moment, the app experience is limited to channels broadcasting sports and news, and there are various pre-built templates for viewers categorized in specific manners.
The change will permit customization from the users, although it did not divulge the details surrounding which channels would be available for users at launch.
YouTube TV multiview is supported across different devices, although it is currently limited to the arrangements and channels the service has provided. Other streaming platforms have introduced multiview features previously, such as Fubo, which allows users to select the channels they wish to view through Apple TV and Roku Ultra devices. The DirecTV satellite television service has also featured “mix” channels for sports and news, and it has also tested multiview on its streaming applications through a pop-up channel last year surrounding the 2024 presidential election.
YouTube currently holds the rights to serve as the exclusive home of the NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market package of games, reportedly paying about $2 billion per annum within a seven-year deal. One of the early criticisms of the service was the lack of custom multiview options, instead operating through selected combinations available for users. The recent NFL season marked the second year of this agreement, and it allowed subscribers more customization to create game combinations of up to four games, along with the NFL RedZone channel as well.
Subscribers of NFL Sunday Ticket filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL alleging that the league overcharged subscribers of the package on DirecTV, working with teams to inflate the price for residential and commercial subscribers. The Los Angeles jury awarded $4.6 billion to the residential class and $96 million to commercial subscribers, and the judge possessed the ability to triple those damages under the U.S. antitrust law.
Yet the federal judge overturned the verdict after concluding that two witness testimony had flawed methodologies and should have been excluded. It should be noted that Google was not part of this lawsuit, but the plaintiffs have appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the subsequent resolution could potentially affect the ongoing deal.
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