YouTube TV expands to 34 more markets

Google-run virtual pay TV service YouTube TV announced its expansion into 34 more urban markets, putting the service in 84 cities around the U.S.

The list of midsized and smaller cities includes New Orleans; Albany and Buffalo, New York; Des Moines, Iowa; Flint and Grand Rapids, Michigan; Knoxville, Tennessee; Omaha, Nebraska; and Tucson, Arizona. (Cord Cutter News has a complete list of the added markets here.)

Unlike vMVPD rivals Hulu Live and DirecTV Now, YouTube has been fairly quiet about the broadcast network affiliate deals it signs. However, Google has deployed the service only when it has locked up local stations for the Big Four broadcast networks. 

RELATED: Hulu Live passes 440 stations, leads vMVPD local arms race

Cord Cutter News, which closely tracks the vMVPD locals arms race, speculates that YouTube TV may have locked up as many as 400 stations so far, which would put it in the industry lead, alongside Hulu Live. 

Google/YouTube, however, has not disclosed any info on how many subscribers its vMVPD service has. YouTube is offering free Google Chromecast devices to entice uptake. But the service still isn’t available on Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire. In fact, YouTube TV is the only major vMVPD service that lacks apps for those devices.