YouTube TV to drop Court TV, Tastemade, and The Young Turks

YouTube TV is trimming its channel line-up, telling customers it will remove Court TV, Tastemade, and The Young Turks at the end of the month.

In an email sent to subscribers on 11 September, Google’s live-streaming service announced that the three networks will vanish from the platform starting on 30 September 2026.

The purge is particularly punishing for viewers who rely on the platform’s cloud DVR. YouTube TV confirmed that once the deadline passes, customers will lose access to both live broadcasts and any previously recorded episodes stored in their digital libraries.

The changes will also hit YouTube TV's premium add-on packages. The service is dropping Tastemade Español, which was part of the Spanish Plus bundle, alongside the high-definition Tastemade in 4K stream, which required the 4K Plus add-on.

Where viewers can watch next

In its message to customers, YouTube TV suggested that viewers who want to keep watching the affected networks can find select free clips on YouTube's main platform. However, that is unlikely to satisfy viewers looking for continuous, linear television.

For those who want to stick with the networks, alternative streaming options remain. Tastemade, which features food and travel programmes, is still available on subscription platforms like Philo, Sling TV, and Fubo, as well as free ad-supported services including The Roku Channel and Samsung TV Plus.

Court TV, which has broadcast legal proceedings since its launch by Steven Brill in 1991, can be found on DirecTV, Fubo, Pluto TV, and Tubi. Meanwhile, The Young Turks, the progressive political commentary channel developed from Cenk Uygur’s long-running show, streams much of its broadcast on its standalone digital channels.

A shift in streaming strategy

Court TV first made its name in the early 1990s with unfiltered, gavel-to-gavel coverage of high-profile American trials, including the prosecutions of the Menendez brothers and O.J. Simpson, before later expanding into prime-time true-crime programming. The Young Turks has a similarly long history, originating as a public-access show in 1995 before finding a wider audience as Sirius Satellite Radio's first original talk programme in 2002.

YouTube TV did not provide a specific reason for dropping the networks, but such moves are typical when carriage agreements expire and carriage fee negotiations stall.

The loss of these niche networks highlights a broader trend in the live-streaming sector. Virtual pay-TV providers, which initially promised bloated cable-style packages at a fraction of the cost, are increasingly forced to trim peripheral channels to keep their core subscription prices stable.

For subscribers who wish to make changes to their plans or cancel their service ahead of the cuts, YouTube TV directed users to visit their membership settings.