Google Has a YouTube TV Workaround for Roku Customers
Despite Roku’s attempts to make YouTube TV harder to access, Google has found a workaround: YouTube.
Bear with me on this. There are two main YouTube apps on Roku: YouTube and YouTube TV. The first is the main app that viewers associate with watching music videos or their favorite creators. YouTube TV is a subscription based, virtual TV provider that lets customers watch live television.
In the midst of a very public battle over alleged antitrust behavior on Google’s part, Roku removed the YouTube TV app from the channel store, ensuring that new customers can’t sign up. Current customers can still access the app as long as they don’t remove it.
YouTube, the main app, wasn’t affected. It’s here that Google found a workaround. Google is adding a new feature that will let customers access YouTube TV directly from the main YouTube app on Roku devices, according to Variety. Think of it as Google preparing for more disruption. If the YouTube TV app disappears completely, YouTube can point to this feature.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/02/28/youtube-announces-new-live-tv-service"]
Said feature will eventually roll out to customers on other devices, like Apple TV, but the company is starting with Roku for obvious reasons.
“On a parallel path, we’re working with other partners to secure free streaming devices in case YouTube TV members face any access issues on Roku,” a YouTube spokesperson told Variety.
Roku responded to Google's actions by calling the company's actions "the clear conduct of an unchecked monopolist bent on crushing fair competition and harming consumer choice" in a statement sent to IGN. The statement adds that Google's move highlights "predatory business practices used by Google that Congress, Attorney Generals and regulatory bodies around the world are investigating." Finally, Roku added that the company hasn't asked for one additional dollar, but rather asked Google "to stop their anticompetitive behavior of manipulating user search results to their unique financial benefit and to stop demanding access to sensitive data that no other partner on our platform receives today."
You know the meme with two Spider-Man figures pointing at each other? As corporations like Google and Roku — or Epic and Apple — fight publicly over which company is doing more harm, it's probably fair to expect more of these types of big statements.
Oh, the joys of streaming. The colloquial “streaming wars,” as the internet has dubbed our current entertainment moment, is not between Disney and Netflix. It’s between Roku and Google; or Roku and WarnerMedia; or Roku and NBCUniversal. Sometimes, it's between Amazon and WarnerMedia or Amazon and NBCUniversal. You get the picture. Roku has 53.6 million active accounts. Roku is one of the most popular over the top (OTT) set top boxes. The company has hardware partnerships with TV manufacturers like TCL. Roku wants to own the home — and that gives Roku a lot of power.
Google is both a hardware and a software business. (Roku is also getting into software but that’s a whole other discussion.) YouTube makes its money through ad revenue, and YouTube TV is a subscription based platform. The more people that YouTube and YouTube TV reach, the better. Being on Roku is a big deal.
Then there’s Google’s hardware business. Google also sells its own OTT device — Google Chromecast with Google TV. It’s $50 a direct competitor to Roku. If Google can use this moment to sell more devices, and take as many customers away from Roku as possible, it’s an automatic win. Except that Google risks alienating its base who don’t want to give up Roku, and are fine switching to a virtual TV competitor, like Sling TV or Hulu + Live TV.
Decisions, decisions. What to do? If you’re NBCUniversal, whose executives are fighting with Amazon to get Peacock on Fire TV, you tell disappointed customers to sideload the app and tweet at Amazon (this is true). If you’re Google, you simply use the other app that Roku isn’t booting to ensure customers remain happy.
Google Has a YouTube TV Workaround for Roku Customers
Despite Roku’s attempts to make YouTube TV harder to access, Google has found a workaround: YouTube.
Bear with me on this. There are two main YouTube apps on Roku: YouTube and YouTube TV. The first is the main app that viewers associate with watching music videos or their favorite creators. YouTube TV is a subscription based, virtual TV provider that lets customers watch live television.
In the midst of a very public battle over alleged antitrust behavior on Google’s part, Roku removed the YouTube TV app from the channel store, ensuring that new customers can’t sign up. Current customers can still access the app as long as they don’t remove it.
YouTube, the main app, wasn’t affected. It’s here that Google found a workaround. Google is adding a new feature that will let customers access YouTube TV directly from the main YouTube app on Roku devices, according to Variety. Think of it as Google preparing for more disruption. If the YouTube TV app disappears completely, YouTube can point to this feature.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/02/28/youtube-announces-new-live-tv-service"]
Said feature will eventually roll out to customers on other devices, like Apple TV, but the company is starting with Roku for obvious reasons.
“On a parallel path, we’re working with other partners to secure free streaming devices in case YouTube TV members face any access issues on Roku,” a YouTube spokesperson told Variety.
Roku responded to Google's actions by calling the company's actions "the clear conduct of an unchecked monopolist bent on crushing fair competition and harming consumer choice" in a statement sent to IGN. The statement adds that Google's move highlights "predatory business practices used by Google that Congress, Attorney Generals and regulatory bodies around the world are investigating." Finally, Roku added that the company hasn't asked for one additional dollar, but rather asked Google "to stop their anticompetitive behavior of manipulating user search results to their unique financial benefit and to stop demanding access to sensitive data that no other partner on our platform receives today."
You know the meme with two Spider-Man figures pointing at each other? As corporations like Google and Roku — or Epic and Apple — fight publicly over which company is doing more harm, it's probably fair to expect more of these types of big statements.
Oh, the joys of streaming. The colloquial “streaming wars,” as the internet has dubbed our current entertainment moment, is not between Disney and Netflix. It’s between Roku and Google; or Roku and WarnerMedia; or Roku and NBCUniversal. Sometimes, it's between Amazon and WarnerMedia or Amazon and NBCUniversal. You get the picture. Roku has 53.6 million active accounts. Roku is one of the most popular over the top (OTT) set top boxes. The company has hardware partnerships with TV manufacturers like TCL. Roku wants to own the home — and that gives Roku a lot of power.
Google is both a hardware and a software business. (Roku is also getting into software but that’s a whole other discussion.) YouTube makes its money through ad revenue, and YouTube TV is a subscription based platform. The more people that YouTube and YouTube TV reach, the better. Being on Roku is a big deal.
Then there’s Google’s hardware business. Google also sells its own OTT device — Google Chromecast with Google TV. It’s $50 a direct competitor to Roku. If Google can use this moment to sell more devices, and take as many customers away from Roku as possible, it’s an automatic win. Except that Google risks alienating its base who don’t want to give up Roku, and are fine switching to a virtual TV competitor, like Sling TV or Hulu + Live TV.
Decisions, decisions. What to do? If you’re NBCUniversal, whose executives are fighting with Amazon to get Peacock on Fire TV, you tell disappointed customers to sideload the app and tweet at Amazon (this is true). If you’re Google, you simply use the other app that Roku isn’t booting to ensure customers remain happy.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Will ‘Probably Be the End of Drax,’ Dave Bautista Says
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 might be the last time we see Dave Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer, the actor told Digital Spy.
Bautista has remained relatively quiet on plot details, but only because he has yet to see what the latest script contains, the actor said.
"I don't know what the script of the third film is, to be honest with you. There was a script years ago that obviously is going to have to change because the whole direction of the Marvel universe has changed," Bautista said.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is due out on May 5, 2023, but Bautista says he’s unlikely to appear as Drax in any other form beyond that, including a spin-off movie.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/23/james-gunn-confirms-when-the-guardians-holiday-special-takes-place-in-the-mcu"]
"There were talks for a while about a Drax and Mantis film,” Bautista said, referencing the comedic relationship between the overly blunt Drax and the naive Mantis played by Pom Klementieff. “It was really because it was James Gunn's idea. He really wanted to do a Drax and Mantis film. He laid it out to me. I thought it was such a brilliant idea, but I haven't heard any follow-up from the studio. I don't think they're very interested, or it doesn't fit into the way they have things mapped out. But other than that, no. I mean, as far as my obligations, I've got Guardians 3, and that's probably going to be the end of Drax."
So maybe there’s room for a TV series instead? Unfortunately, Bautista has told JoBlo there’s “not a chance in hell” he’d reprise the role in that format.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/20/no-guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-4-for-james-gunn"]Obviously, nothing is ever too permanent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Bautista’s exit might be one of those things you can’t walk back from. The actor has previously been very critical of Disney after it fired James Gunn for making inappropriate jokes on Twitter years before working on GotG.
Bautista went as far as to say he was considering not working on Guardians Vol. 3 after Disney’s decision, which the company eventually rescinded. Knowing all that, it’s pretty clear that Bautista has no love lost for Disney as a corporation.
Whether Drax simply walks into the sunset or goes out in a more violent manner in Guardians Vol. 3 remains to be seen. In the meantime, we’ve at least got the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special to look forward to, and Bautista is starring in Zack Snyder's zombie heist movie Army of the Dead on Netflix. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/groot for IGN.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Will ‘Probably Be the End of Drax,’ Dave Bautista Says
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 might be the last time we see Dave Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer, the actor told Digital Spy.
Bautista has remained relatively quiet on plot details, but only because he has yet to see what the latest script contains, the actor said.
"I don't know what the script of the third film is, to be honest with you. There was a script years ago that obviously is going to have to change because the whole direction of the Marvel universe has changed," Bautista said.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is due out on May 5, 2023, but Bautista says he’s unlikely to appear as Drax in any other form beyond that, including a spin-off movie.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/23/james-gunn-confirms-when-the-guardians-holiday-special-takes-place-in-the-mcu"]
"There were talks for a while about a Drax and Mantis film,” Bautista said, referencing the comedic relationship between the overly blunt Drax and the naive Mantis played by Pom Klementieff. “It was really because it was James Gunn's idea. He really wanted to do a Drax and Mantis film. He laid it out to me. I thought it was such a brilliant idea, but I haven't heard any follow-up from the studio. I don't think they're very interested, or it doesn't fit into the way they have things mapped out. But other than that, no. I mean, as far as my obligations, I've got Guardians 3, and that's probably going to be the end of Drax."
So maybe there’s room for a TV series instead? Unfortunately, Bautista has told JoBlo there’s “not a chance in hell” he’d reprise the role in that format.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/20/no-guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-4-for-james-gunn"]Obviously, nothing is ever too permanent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Bautista’s exit might be one of those things you can’t walk back from. The actor has previously been very critical of Disney after it fired James Gunn for making inappropriate jokes on Twitter years before working on GotG.
Bautista went as far as to say he was considering not working on Guardians Vol. 3 after Disney’s decision, which the company eventually rescinded. Knowing all that, it’s pretty clear that Bautista has no love lost for Disney as a corporation.
Whether Drax simply walks into the sunset or goes out in a more violent manner in Guardians Vol. 3 remains to be seen. In the meantime, we’ve at least got the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special to look forward to, and Bautista is starring in Zack Snyder's zombie heist movie Army of the Dead on Netflix. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/groot for IGN.Podcast Beyond! Episode 700 Live Show Details
How to Watch Podcast Beyond! Episode 700
You'll be able to watch the episode right here on IGN.com, as well as on two of our YouTube channels: IGN's main YouTube page, as well as the IGN Games page. And speaking of Bloodborne, the show doesn't stop when the episode ends. Stick around after episode 700 because at about 11:25 am PT the Beyond! crew will be filming episode 2 of their Bloodborne let's play series live! Jonathon hasn't played Bloodborne for over a year, so see how he adjusts while returning to Yharnam as Brian, Max, and Lucy guide him through, cheer him on, and bemoan his (most likely) many, many deaths. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/30/beyond-plays-bloodborne-episode-1"]Podcast Beyond Episode 700 Air Date and Start Time
Can't watch live? Well don't worry, episode 700 will be available on VOD everywhere you can normally expect the show, both in audio and video formats, and the Bloodborne let's play will be available as a VOD following the day as well. The full schedule:- 10:30 am PT: Podcast Beyond! Episode 700 begins
- 11:15 am PT: Episode ends and intermission begins
- 11:25 am PT: Bloodborne Let's Play begins
Podcast Beyond! Episode 700 Live Show Details
How to Watch Podcast Beyond! Episode 700
You'll be able to watch the episode right here on IGN.com, as well as on two of our YouTube channels: IGN's main YouTube page, as well as the IGN Games page. And speaking of Bloodborne, the show doesn't stop when the episode ends. Stick around after episode 700 because at about 11:25 am PT the Beyond! crew will be filming episode 2 of their Bloodborne let's play series live! Jonathon hasn't played Bloodborne for over a year, so see how he adjusts while returning to Yharnam as Brian, Max, and Lucy guide him through, cheer him on, and bemoan his (most likely) many, many deaths. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/30/beyond-plays-bloodborne-episode-1"]Podcast Beyond Episode 700 Air Date and Start Time
Can't watch live? Well don't worry, episode 700 will be available on VOD everywhere you can normally expect the show, both in audio and video formats, and the Bloodborne let's play will be available as a VOD following the day as well. The full schedule:- 10:30 am PT: Podcast Beyond! Episode 700 begins
- 11:15 am PT: Episode ends and intermission begins
- 11:25 am PT: Bloodborne Let's Play begins
Titanfall 2 Speedrunning Champ Reclaims Their Record One Week After Losing It
A Titanfall 2 speedrunner has reclaimed their throne after having their previous record beaten last week. Cash Mayo managed to speedrun Titanfall 2’s tutorial level, an infamously intricate bit of wallrunning and speed-boosting, in 11.1 seconds, beating Whatevershoe’s record of 11.2 seconds.
Reported first by PC Gamer, Cash Mayo managed the new record this past weekend, narrowly beating Whatevershoe’s recent record. Whatevershoe was originally aiming to beat Cash Mayo’s previous record of 11.7 seconds from 2019, so the room for error has gotten exponentially smaller and smaller as the record was revised.
Titanfall 2’s tutorial level, the Gauntlet, has become an in-universe trophy of sorts for Titanfall and Apex Legends fans. Developer Respawn made it part of the maniac daredevil Octane’s backstory, establishing that Octane set the original record by using a classic grenade jump trick, which explains the prosthetic legs. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/26/apex-legends-legacy-gameplay-trailer"]It's nuts that, 5 years after the release of Titanfall 2, a player just broke the world record speedrun time for The Gauntlet during our recent Free Weekend.
Here's the clip. Yes, they're blowing up their own legs with grenades to gain speed. Source: https://t.co/1kio1ZrXbr pic.twitter.com/D8XTdg9LJX — Ryan K. Rigney (@RKRigney) May 7, 2021
Titanfall 2 is having something of a second (third?) renaissance this past month. The game had a free weekend on Steam, and that was after experiencing a 500% surge in players thanks to Apex season 9’s Titan-centric theme. Titanfall and Titanfall 2 also recently got the framerate boost treatment on the Xbox Series X and S alongside many other EA games.
If you prefer your Respawn shooters firmly in the battle royale genre, check out all the details on Apex season 9’s new legend, new modes, and more. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/pilot for IGN.Titanfall 2 Speedrunning Champ Reclaims Their Record One Week After Losing It
A Titanfall 2 speedrunner has reclaimed their throne after having their previous record beaten last week. Cash Mayo managed to speedrun Titanfall 2’s tutorial level, an infamously intricate bit of wallrunning and speed-boosting, in 11.1 seconds, beating Whatevershoe’s record of 11.2 seconds.
Reported first by PC Gamer, Cash Mayo managed the new record this past weekend, narrowly beating Whatevershoe’s recent record. Whatevershoe was originally aiming to beat Cash Mayo’s previous record of 11.7 seconds from 2019, so the room for error has gotten exponentially smaller and smaller as the record was revised.
Titanfall 2’s tutorial level, the Gauntlet, has become an in-universe trophy of sorts for Titanfall and Apex Legends fans. Developer Respawn made it part of the maniac daredevil Octane’s backstory, establishing that Octane set the original record by using a classic grenade jump trick, which explains the prosthetic legs. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/26/apex-legends-legacy-gameplay-trailer"]It's nuts that, 5 years after the release of Titanfall 2, a player just broke the world record speedrun time for The Gauntlet during our recent Free Weekend.
Here's the clip. Yes, they're blowing up their own legs with grenades to gain speed. Source: https://t.co/1kio1ZrXbr pic.twitter.com/D8XTdg9LJX — Ryan K. Rigney (@RKRigney) May 7, 2021
Titanfall 2 is having something of a second (third?) renaissance this past month. The game had a free weekend on Steam, and that was after experiencing a 500% surge in players thanks to Apex season 9’s Titan-centric theme. Titanfall and Titanfall 2 also recently got the framerate boost treatment on the Xbox Series X and S alongside many other EA games.
If you prefer your Respawn shooters firmly in the battle royale genre, check out all the details on Apex season 9’s new legend, new modes, and more. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/pilot for IGN.