Update: YTFam now redirects to YouTube TV. You can learn more about this update HERE.
One of the best features of YouTube TV is the ability to add family members to your account. This means they can have their own DVR, login, and more all on the same bill. YouTube TV allows you to have five accounts per paid YouTube TV account.
Now YTFam has launched a service to take advantage of this feature. The group behind YTFam creates a YouTube TV account and resells family share accounts for $19.99 a month.
Here is how YTFam describes the service:
We create and manage shared accounts for YouTubeTV subscribers, so the service becomes affordable. You sign up with your own gmail account that no one else has access to.
The downside here is that YouTube TV still has a three-stream limit. With YouTube TV costing $49.99, YTFam would need to sell three accounts of YTFam for each YouTube TV account they created. This means if everyone paying for that service just uses one stream you are ok. But if one of the other accounts you are sharing with is using two or more streams at one time you may find yourself blocked from being able to use YouTube TV when you want.
One other issue here is that YouTube TV has a location rule for shared accounts. According to Google, when you create a family shared account YouTube TV creates a home location based on the location of the account that pays for the service. All the Family Shared accounts need to periodically log into YouTube TV from the home location or they face being kicked off the network.
In the past, Google has not aggressively enforced this location rule. Though there have been reports that they will after sometime block family share accounts that do not ever return to the home location.
Here is how YouTube TV describes the location rule for shared accounts:
Location requirements work the same if you’re sharing your YouTube TV membership with a family group. The family manager sets the home area, and all family members must primarily live in the same household.
All family group members need to periodically use YouTube TV in your home location to keep access. If you don’t, the family manager will either have to change the family’s home location or you’ll need to get your own individual membership.
So is this service breaking YouTube TV rules? Cord Cutters News reached out to YTFam to see if they have received permission from Google to launch this service. Cord Cutters News also reached out to Google to ask their thoughts on YTFam. At this time both Google and YTFam have not replied to our emails.
What we can say is this does seem to have issues with the YouTube TV family share location rule. So do understand that at anytime YouTube could enforce the YouTube TV location rules cutting you off. Or you could find yourself with no available streams as others are already using all 3 streams.
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