YouTube Chief Announces YouTube TV Redesign for 2022: Here is What’s Changing

YouTube’s Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan announced yesterday that YouTube TV, Google’s live streaming TV service, is planning for a user interface redesign for later this year.

On the Vergecast, Mohan goes into detail about the redesign. He says that the “critical user journeys” that the company wants to address in 2022 are the Library and Live. The biggest request regarding the library is adding more organizational controls and for live, a more personalized experience, such as making “the type of content that you’re really excited about” stands out more prominently.

“So when we’re thinking about a reason to redesign, it’s, it’s giving users more control over organization, but also doing more with what was one of our fundamental pieces of YouTube TV in the first place, which is just smart personalization,” Mohan adds.

Last month, they rolled out a feature that lets you sort by “Most Watched” channels in the Grid Guide. In the next couple of months, YouTube TV will also be bringing Picture-in-Picture to iOS users with iPhones and iPads.

In Mohan’s official Youtube blog post yesterday, he writes,

“One thing that I love to hear is how much people appreciate the YouTube TV experience, and we’re going to keep pushing forward on even more innovative features for our members. Last year, we announced several new updates, like the introduction of 4K Plus.

The add-on package not only offers 4K quality on select content but also includes unlimited streams in a household and the option to watch shows offline without an internet connection. It was a huge boon to sports fans like me. I’m delighted to share that this year, we’ll launch a redesign that will further streamline the user interface, including updates to Library and Live, which will give our viewers more control over how they organize and watch their favorite content with an even smoother experience.”

Other major streaming services have also noticed the importance of UI and have been listening to requests from their subscribers. Netflix recently allowed TV and web users to delete titles from the “Continue Watching” queue, which can get annoying for viewers who decide they don’t want to watch a show after all, let alone see it on their queue all the time.

In the saturated streaming markeet, consumers have an overwhelming amount of choices. So even though the quality of content is still on top, usability and user experience have a real impact on a company’s success.