YouTube makes thousands of TV show episodes available to stream for free

For the first time, users in the US will be able to watch thousands of free, ad-supported TV shows. That will put it in competition with OTT services with ad tiers including Peacock, Tubi and others.

There will be 4,000 free TV episodes on the site. Gone in Sixty Seconds, Runaway Bride and Legally Blonde are now available to stream for free in the US with ads.

With the new TV offerings, YouTube is hoping to keep American users on its platform. Most of the content on offer is not what you would call prestige TV, though having dozens of episodes from multiple series will allow users to binge like they do on other platforms. One of its biggest rivals is Roku TV, which had a very public dispute with YouTube that was only recently resolved.

Last year, YouTube stopped trying to fill content holes with its own programming. In 2022, it announced that it was abandoning its ambitions and would focus on its Black Voices and YouTube Kids Funds. The program had some success with shows like Cobra Kai, but didn't pose much of a threat to services like Amazon Prime Video.