Asset 20 8 2
Does AI recommend your business? Run the free check →

Join 15,000 business owners, marketers and entrepreneurs. The Sunday newsletter you'll be annoyed only arrives once a week.

Article

Does YouTube Premium Include YouTube TV? What Each One Covers

No. YouTube Premium doesn't include YouTube TV, and YouTube TV doesn't include YouTube Premium. They're two separate paid memberships. If you pay for both, YouTube videos inside YouTube TV play without ads, but ads still appear on live TV and recorded programmes.

The names make them sound like one product with two tiers. They aren't. YouTube TV is a live TV streaming service for the US. YouTube Premium is an upgrade to the regular YouTube app and YouTube Music, available in certain countries. One doesn't include the other.

What each membership gives you

FeatureYouTube PremiumYouTube TV
Live TV from broadcast and cable networksNoYes, 100+ channels on the main plan
Ad-free YouTube videosYesNo, unless you also have Premium
Offline and background play on YouTubeYesNo
YouTube Music without adsYesNo
Unlimited DVR for TV programmesNoYes
Where it's soldCertain countriesUnited States only

YouTube TV's own FAQ puts it plainly: YouTube Premium isn't included in your YouTube TV membership. Its help page adds that Premium is available in certain countries, while YouTube TV doesn't play at all when you travel outside the US.

If you pay for both: where you'll still see ads

This is the part people don't expect. Having both memberships only removes ads from the YouTube videos you watch inside YouTube TV. Here's how ads behave on each type of content, from YouTube TV's ads help page:

  • Live TV. You can't fast-forward through ads. If you pause, you can fast-forward until you catch up to live.
  • DVR recordings. You can fast-forward through ads on recorded programmes.
  • On-demand programmes. These ads have a yellow progress bar and a small ad icon, and you typically can't fast-forward through them.
  • YouTube videos inside YouTube TV. No ads if you're a Premium member. Without Premium, you'll see ads on them.

So Premium won't make your live football or your recorded sitcom ad-free. Those ads come from the TV networks, the same way they would on cable.

Where the two do meet is YouTube content. YouTube TV's help page says a YouTube TV subscription also includes trending YouTube videos, and those are the part Premium cleans up. If you rarely watch YouTube videos on your TV app, paying for Premium to remove ads inside YouTube TV makes little sense on its own.

Sharing works differently on each

YouTube TV's membership is built for a household. It includes up to 6 accounts, each with its own login, recommendations and DVR library, and up to 3 streams playing at once. Everyone needs to live in the same household, and the family manager sets the home area that decides your local channels.

YouTube Premium is shared through its own family plan, which is a separate purchase from YouTube TV. So a household that wants both ad-free YouTube for everyone and live TV is paying for two different sharing setups. My guide to YouTube Premium Family covers how that one works.

Your YouTube ad settings carry over

One link between the two that people don't know about: YouTube TV says the ad preferences you set on YouTube are reflected on YouTube TV, and Google personalises ads on parts of YouTube TV just as it does on YouTube. You control that from your Google ad settings. YouTube TV also says personalised ads aren't shown on content made for kids.

So if you've tuned your YouTube ad topics, you don't need to do it again for YouTube TV.

Work with me

Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?

I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.

Does cancelling one cancel the other?

No. Because they're separate memberships, each one is cancelled on its own. Cancelling YouTube TV leaves your Premium running, and the other way round. My guides on cancelling YouTube TV and cancelling YouTube Premium show each route.

Which one do you need?

  • Choose YouTube Premium if you watch YouTube creators and listen to YouTube Music, and you want those without ads, offline and in the background.
  • Choose YouTube TV if you're replacing cable in the US and want live news, local channels and sport with a DVR.
  • Choose both only if your household lives in the YouTube app and watches live TV, and you're happy that live TV ads will remain.

If price is the deciding factor, YouTube TV's main plan is listed at $82.99 a month as of October 2026, and you can compare that with what YouTube Premium costs in your country.

My verdict

Don't buy YouTube Premium expecting live TV, and don't buy YouTube TV expecting ad-free YouTube. They solve different problems. If you already have one, the other only adds value when you'd use it on its own.

Frequently asked questions

Does YouTube Premium come with YouTube TV?

No. YouTube TV says YouTube Premium is a separate paid membership and isn't included in a YouTube TV membership.

Does YouTube TV come with YouTube Premium?

No. YouTube TV and YouTube Premium are separate memberships, each billed and cancelled on its own.

Will YouTube Premium remove ads on YouTube TV?

Only on YouTube videos inside YouTube TV. YouTube TV says ads still appear on live TV and recorded content, and you may see ads on on-demand programmes.

Can I use YouTube TV outside the US?

No. YouTube TV says you can't access any programmes while travelling internationally, while YouTube Premium is sold in certain countries.

Published and maintained by the Lilach Bullock team, covering marketing, AI and business growth.
Your buyers are asking AI who to use. Does it say you?

See for free whether ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini and Google name you, and get the plan to become the answer.

Check my AI visibility →
Sundays only

Get the Sunday newsletter.

One email a week. AI experiments, marketing tactics, and the workflows Lilach is building right now in her own business.

Subscribe free

Let’s get your marketing running on AI.

Book a free 30-minute call

We figure out what you need, where AI fits in, and what working together would look like.

Book the call →

Or take the 30-second calculator

You’ll see the hours and the money quietly leaking out of your week, and the three workflows worth building first.

Take the calculator →

Or grab the free AI resource library

Prompt packs, templates, checklists, and swipe files. The exact tools I build for paying clients. Yours, free.

Get the library →
Keep reading

More from the blog.