Better Late Than Never: YouTube TV Fully Integrates ESPN Unlimited Into Its Platform

Hulu was first, but YouTube TV might be better

In journalism, there’s immense pressure to be first to a story. But sometimes, that pressure leads to sloppiness at best, and getting the story wrong at worst.

ESPN Unlimited‘s integration into live TV streaming apps feels similar. The stakes are not nearly as high, of course, and no one’s credibility or reputation is in jeopardy of being tarnished. But there was a clear leader.

When ESPN Unlimited first launched, Hulu + Live TV already had a head start on native ESPN integration, with ESPN+ content available directly in Hulu. A year later, users can watch much of ESPN’s live content without leaving Hulu’s platform.

But now that ESPN Unlimited has made its way to YouTube TV, the momentum has changed.

Finding ESPN Unlimited content on YouTube TV is easier

If your main goal is watching sports without switching apps, there’s no simpler interface than YouTube TV.

After signing in, whether it’s on mobile or TV, you can navigate to the Live tab and scroll down until you come across ESPN. There, you’ll find multiple rows dedicated to ESPN Unlimited content alongside other ESPN channels you’re already accustomed to seeing.

Hulu + Live TV takes more digging

With the U.S. Open Tennis Championships underway, Hulu + Live TV makes tournament coverage easy to find on its home page. But after the tournament is over, sports fans may have a harder time navigating to other events they want to watch.

Hulu + Live TV’s live guide is similar to YouTube TV’s. But the major difference is that if you’re looking for ESPN Unlimited content, you won’t find it by scrolling alphabetically. So, where is it, you ask?

One way to find everything ESPN Unlimited has to offer (including content from ESPN+, ACC Network Extra, and SEC Network+) is to scroll through whatever is live on the home page. If you’re looking for a specific network, however, you’ll need to find it in the live guide or through the channel’s corresponding tile in the Sports Networks menu.

We’re not suggesting that every ESPN-owned channel should all be grouped together. But if you’re looking for college football or NHL hockey on ESPN+, for instance, YouTube TV requires less scrolling and clicking than Hulu + Live TV.

Other providers are taking similar approaches. DIRECTV offers select ESPN Unlimited content directly on its platform, and Fubo recently announced that it added ACCNX and SECN+ to its platform. But neither is as comprehensive as what YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV offer.

Multiview is where YouTube TV shines with ESPN Unlimited integration

Let’s get one thing out of the way: The ESPN app offers multiview to ESPN Select and Unlimited subscribers, including those who have an eligible pay TV plan.

But this article is about why the ESPN Unlimited integration is so important. Hulu + Live TV doesn’t have a multiview feature natively in its app. YouTube TV does, and it’s fully customizable. There’s really no comparison here.

Again, if you’re a Hulu + Live TV subscriber, you can get multiview by authenticating your account with the ESPN app. But in our experience, ESPN’s multiview is limited in comparison to others.

Multiview capabilities are also available on DIRECTV and Fubo without the ESPN app. But even those offer less customization than YouTube TV’s version.

Why would Disney let YouTube TV fully integrate ESPN Unlimited?

When it comes to the live TV streaming market, YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV are at the top and in direct competition with one another. One is owned by Google; the other by Disney — two of the biggest companies on the planet.

Usually, one big company tries its damnedest to stay head and shoulders above the other. But that’s not necessarily playing out with these two TV providers and ESPN Unlimited.

Disney owns ESPN, too, and is theoretically incentivized to limit how much other providers integrate those channels into their platforms. But, obviously, ESPN channels have been licensed to cable and satellite companies for decades.

Full integration dampens Hulu’s advantage

With ESPN Unlimited, though, it only makes sense that Hulu’s live TV platform would benefit most, simply because it’s owned by Disney. And even if YouTube TV subscribers could eventually get ESPN Unlimited through their plans, Disney could easily choose not to allow that platform to fully integrate the service.

But no one needs to switch providers on account of ESPN Unlimited. But YouTube TV’s multiview capabilities alone — not to mention differences in pricing and channel lineup — could sway some ESPN fans to leave Hulu. You don’t need to be an economist to know that hurts Disney’s bottom line.

What seems to be happening is Disney has decided that distributing its ESPN suite as widely as possible is more valuable than keeping the ESPN Unlimited experience to itself. And if that means allowing its strongest live TV competitor, YouTube TV, to become even stronger, that’s worth it to Disney.

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