This week, Google expanded the reach of its YouTube TV service to 14 new markets. The service is now available to half of U.S. households, according to reports.

This is where I’d insert a quote and a link to the YouTube blog post announcing this expansion. But it doesn’t exist.

So let’s move on. As you may recall, Google announced its YouTube TV “skinny bundle” service—I’d call it a cord-cutting service, but whatever—in late February and then rolled it out to the first 5 U.S. cities in April. It then added 10 more cities in July, bringing the total to 15 cities (really regions or markets, since you can be outside a supported city and still obtain the service.)

With this week’s expansion, the availability of YouTube TV almost doubles to 29 markets. You can find a complete list of supported markets here, but that’s going to change soon too: Google will bring another 17 markets into the fold in the coming weeks, so this is really happening.

From my perspective, the big addition is Boston. Had that city been available from the start, I would have tested this service months ago.

As it is, I’m moving to Pennsylvania next week, so I’ll need to hold off. (Ironically, Philadelphia was among the first five cities available, but you need to physically be there to sign-up.) And the reason I’m excited to do this is that it appears that YouTube TV is among the best, if not the best, of the currently-available cord-cutting services. As you may recall, I have not signed up for cable TV in Pennsylvania and will see if we can survive on online services instead.

A number of things put YouTube TV over the top compared to other services, including PlayStation Vue, which I am currently testing. It’s inexpensive at $35 per month, and that price includes unlimited cloud-based DVR capabilities, local TV access including sports, broad compatibility with devices, and multiscreen access with 6 different accounts, so everyone in the family is covered. Including the cats.

Anyway, this is a big push, and it looks like Google is serious about making this work, in part because of its focus on local live TV, which is a smart move.

Tagged with YouTube TV