Comcast and Google are bringing YouTube to Xfinity X1 subscribers

By Kris Wouk February 27, 2017

Comcast — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Comcast’s Xfinity X1 is no stranger to streaming services, with both Netflix and Sling TV announced for the service last year. Now another big name in streaming video is coming, as on Monday, Comcast and Google announced that YouTube is on the way for X1 customers.

“We are excited to partner with Google to bring YouTube to X1 and provide our customers easier access to all the content they love in one place,” Comcast Cable chief business development officer Sam Schwartz said in a statement. “By integrating YouTube into the X1 experience, viewers can simply and effortlessly access videos on any topic, from cooking, to beauty and fitness with just their voice.”

Similar to other streaming services and apps on X1, YouTube will be available via the Apps and Networks sections of X1, but that’s not all. Select content will also be available on its own Xfinity On Demand, placed right alongside the service’s other on-demand movies and TV shows, highlighting content without even needing to open the app.

The service will make use of the X1 voice remote, allowing you to launch YouTube by simply saying “YouTube” into the voice remote. This also works for search, allowing for phrases like “Show me Adam Levine clips from The Voice on YouTube,“ or “YouTube, find The Lego Movie trailer.”

“The YouTube integration on X1 will provide users the ability to seamlessly navigate and access YouTube content alongside their cable service. And by simply using their voice, users can now access diverse videos that creators make every single day,” YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl said.

No official launch date has been announced so far, but YouTube on X1 is expected to arrive later this year. Once the service has launched, X1 subscribers will be able to sign into their YouTube accounts and immediately access their settings and subscriptions.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

Audio / Video

YouTube TV tips and tricks: how to get the most out Google’s live TV service

YouTube TV app icon on Apple TV.

There’s a reason YouTube TV has found itself the leader in live-streaming video. In fact, it has about twice as many subscribers to its cable-TV replacement as the next biggest platform. And. among other reasons like price, reliability, and abundance of channels, it is just packed with features.
In fact, YouTube TV has so many features tucked away in there that you’ll be forgiven if you don’t spot them all at first. But we’ve done the legwork. We’ve watched hours and hours of YouTube TV. Weeks and months, really. We’ve flipped all the buttons. We’ve pressed all the switches. (Wait — reverse that.) And we’ve put together a list of what we think are the most important — if not always obvious — YouTube TV tips and tricks. And we're not just talking about NFL Sunday Ticket.
This isn’t everything. There are still a few other places to explore in the settings menu, as well as when you’re watching shows and movies. But these are the YouTube TV tips and tricks we absolutely think you must know.

Record a show to watch later

Audio / Video

This long-awaited YouTube TV feature is a channel-flipper’s dream

The previous channel feature on YouTube TV on a TV.

The move from cable to streaming for live TV changed a lot of things. Choice, for one. (We have more.) Price, for another. (You're likely paying less.) But not all changes were great. If you're of the channel-surfing variety — or love to flip back and forth between two channels — you've likely been missing that feature.

YouTube TV — the most popular streaming service in the U.S. with more than 8 million subscribers — has addressed the latter. After having been teased in some A/B testing for a while now (that is, some folks saw it, and most didn't), it looks like the ability to hop back and forth between two channels is now rolling out more broadly.

Audio / Video

If you don’t see CBS in 4K on YouTube TV, try this

Super Bowl in 4K on CBS on YouTube TV.

A quick heads up if you have the 4K add-on for YouTube TV but aren't seeing the option to watch Super Bowl 2024 in 4K on CBS: It's likely because you're using a custom sort on your live channel listings. (Which is something you might have done if you want to hide YouTube TV channels that you never watch.) That'a bad enough for the game itself, and it also means you won't be able to enjoy the Super Bowl Halftime Show in 4K.

This is a known problem — and has been for years — anytime YouTube TV adds a new channel to the listing. If you're not using the default sort on the live channel listings, a new channel will appear at the bottom of the listings, which is bad enough. But worse is that it's hidden by default until you actively go in and unhide it.