Background Playback for YouTube TV Mobile Apps Coming Soon from Google

Google is reportedly adding a new feature to its YouTube TV streaming service that will allow users to continue listening to TV shows even when they cannot watch them. The company has confirmed to The Verge that it is "experimenting" with enabling YouTube TV playback after a phone is locked.

According to 9to5Google, Reddit users discovered a couple of weeks ago that they could continue listening to the audio from YouTube TV even after minimizing the video app on their mobile devices.

This background playback feature allows users to keep listening to content when their phone’s screen is off or locked, which can be useful in various situations, such as continuing to listen to a live sporting event while driving.

Currently, YouTube’s premium subscription service offers background playback and an ad-free experience. However, this feature has not been available on Google’s live TV service, which costs $72.99 per month and includes ads. When users switch away from the YouTube TV app, the show pauses, and the audio stops.

Allison Toh, product communications manager at YouTube, confirmed in an email to The Verge that the company is indeed working on this feature for YouTube TV:

"I can confirm that we are running an experiment that enables YouTube TV playback to continue after the phone screen is locked for Android and iOS mobile users. If a viewer has the YouTube TV app on and then goes to lock their phone, playback will continue. If users want to avoid background playback, they can pause the video before locking their phone."

However, it is not yet an official feature, and Toh did not comment on whether there are plans to roll it out more broadly. She mentioned that the experiment is currently available to a select group of users across Android and iOS mobile devices.

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