Can You Watch YouTube TV on Echo Show? [2023]

YouTube is probably the most important missing app on the Echo Show. Several workarounds have been suggested over the years for watching YouTube and YouTube TV on Amazon Echo Show devices, but most of those workarounds don’t work anymore.

In this article, we’ll take a look at who can still watch YouTube TV on Echo Show, how to get it working, and a few alternatives that are still available.

Can You Watch YouTube TV on Echo Show?

There is no YouTube TV app for the Echo Show. You can watch YouTube in the Silk browser on Echo Show, but YouTube TV is not compatible with that browser. The only other browser option, Firefox, was discontinued for the Echo Show in 2021.

Hopefully, there will someday be a YouTube TV app on these devices. Google and Amazon have always been at odds, though, so I wouldn’t expect it anytime soon.

As always, when the big tech companies fight, we users of the tech end up paying the price. But enough of my complaining, let’s talk solutions.

How to Watch YouTube on Echo Show

Amazon Silk is the default web browser on Echo devices. This browser doesn’t have native support for YouTube TV, though, so we’re going to need a workaround.

Until 2021, all Echo Show devices had a second browser, Mozilla Firefox. If you purchased your Echo before that point, you might still have the unsupported version of that browser installed.

Owners of newer Echo Show devices, including the Echo Show 15, are out of luck. Some users have reported workarounds that let them watch YouTube TV in the Silk browser, but I haven’t found one that is reliable enough to recommend.

For those of you with older Echo Show units, all you need to do is say, “Alexa, play YouTube.” You’ll be presented with two browser options, Silk and Firefox. Choose Firefox, and Echo will remember it as the default going forward.

Be careful not to ever delete the Firefox browser from your device. Because it’s no longer supported, you cannot reinstall it. Once it’s gone, your Echo Show will be unable to play YouTube TV.

What Video Apps Work With Echo Show?

Your Echo Show may not have apps for YouTube TV or YouTube, but it does have several video services available.

• Amazon Prime Video
• Netflix
• Hulu
• Tubi
• Food Network Kitchen
• Red Bull TV

Some of these services even have the same live TV and sports options that draw people to YouTube TV.

Amazon Prime Video, for example, has channels available for a range of live TV channels and live sporting events. Hulu’s basic service doesn’t offer live TV, but their upgraded Hulu + Live TV service has many of the same channels as YouTube TV for a similar price.

While Tubi and Red Bull TV may not have quite the range of YouTube TV, they do have the advantage of being completely free. If you’re already subscribing to YouTube TV for your other devices, these two can give you something to watch when your Echo Show is the only device you have readily available.

Which Amazon Devices Have YouTube TV?

While Echo Show may not have a YouTube TV app, Fire TV devices do. That includes the Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Cube, and any smart TVs that run on Fire OS. The YouTube TV app didn’t come to Fire OS until late 2019, again due to disagreements between Amazon and Google.

There’s no indication that Google or Amazon will remove this app again, but it wouldn’t be unprecedented. Roku removed the YouTube app from their store for a short while in 2021 because of a dispute between Google and Roku.

These things happen, which is why some users prefer to keep both a Firestick and Roku around for their TV. Sadly, that’s the only way to protect yourself against losing access to your favorite apps.

What’s Next?

Given the cost of the Echo Show, you’d expect to have all of your favorite services available. Maybe someday Google and Amazon will finally work out their differences, but until then, you can toss the missing YouTube TV app in with the Echo Show’s lacking an action button in its list of annoying or confusing downsides.

Still, Echo Show is an awesome piece of equipment. It gives you an easy interface for voice commands for Roomba vacuums or controlling your Fire TV. And there’s my personal favorite feature, the convenient access to recipes and instruction videos while you’re cooking. And yes, YouTube would be really helpful there, too, but we can’t always get what we want.