YouTube TV’s Multiview Launching on iPhone, iPad in Time for March Madness Tournaments
Android tablet owners will have to wait for multiview, but iPad customers can use the feature starting this week.
YouTube TV is an increasingly popular destination for sports fans, thanks in large part to its multiview feature. Multiview was first rolled out ahead of last year’s NCAA Basketball Tournaments, and has been making steady improvements to the feature ever since. Now, 9to5 Google is reporting that multiview is launching on iPhone and iPad devices, just in time to watch the 2024 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments and the end of the 2024 NBA regular season as well.
- Multiview is rolling out for iPhones and iPads this week, but Android-powered devices will have to wait.
- Fans can now customize multiview, swapping games in and out of pre-selected packages.
- YouTube TV recently updated its interface to improve the sports watching experience.
Users on social media sites like Reddit have been noting the further spread of the multiview feature in recent days, and 9to5 Google has officially confirmed that it is currently rolling out to iPhone and iPad customers. Unfortunately for basketball fans with Android-powered mobile devices, multiview is set to arrive in “the coming months,” so it won’t be ready in time for March Madness.
Multiview allows YouTube TV subscribers to watch up to four games at once on a single screen, the perfect way to get the most out of NCAA Tournament viewing. Audiences used to be stuck choosing between pre-set combinations of games, but now they can swap games in and out of already-selected packages until they have the customized view they want.
YouTube TV subscribers on iPhones and iPads can also use their service to stream NBA basketball with multiview via NBA League Pass, the league’s out-of-market streaming platform. League Pass is only available during the regular season, but this is the most important part of the NBA calendar, as teams jockey for playoff positioning ahead of the regular season’s end in April. NBA League Pass is the only app that supports multiview through YouTube TV for the present.
What Else is New on YouTube TV?
This week’s update is geared toward YouTube TV subscribers who watch on small screens, but just last week YouTube TV rolled out a facelift for its user interface on the biggest screens. Viewers who watch YouTube TV on smart TVs can now enjoy a modified video player while watching sports, ensuring the column of scores and highlights on the right-hand side of the screen no longer blocks part of the action on the screen.
Sports fans who subscribe to YouTube TV can also now choose to reduce their broadcast delays. This brings the action on a YouTube TV screen as close to the live action on the field or floor as possible, but customers who use it may have to deal with reduced screen resolution, as the stream will have less time to buffer.
Finally, YouTube TV rolled out improved bitrate and 5.1 surround sound for more channels in October of last year. The ESPN family of channels now supports 5.1 surround on YouTube TV, so viewers of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament this year will be able to enjoy games in the best and most immersive sound quality possible.
Google seems to have temporarily left its own customers out in the cold by rolling out the multiview feature for iOS mobile devices first. If you’re using an iPhone or iPad to watch YouTube TV, make sure it’s updated to version 8.11 or later and start watching up to four NCAA Tournament games at once using your newly-enabled multiview.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV is a live TV streaming service with more than 60 channels for $72.99/month. This plan includes local channels, 32 of the top 35 cable channels, and regional sports networks (RSNs) in select markets. The service includes an unlimited DVR.