Title: TV Player for YouTube Channels
Author: StartupHub.ai
Published: <strong>November 2, 2026</strong>
Last modified: November 2, 2026

---

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# TV Player for YouTube Channels

 By [StartupHub.ai](https://profiles.wordpress.org/startuphubai/)

[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/tv-player-for-youtube-channels.1.0.0.zip)

 * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tv-player-for-youtube-channels/#description)
 * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tv-player-for-youtube-channels/#reviews)
 *  [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tv-player-for-youtube-channels/#installation)
 * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tv-player-for-youtube-channels/#developers)

 [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/tv-player-for-youtube-channels/)

## Description

A normal YouTube embed shows one video. Then it sends the viewer to YouTube and 
attention leaves your site.

TV Player for YouTube Channels turns your channels into a full-screen TV on your
site. A swipe or arrow key moves to the next video or the next channel, and the 
same plugin also does galleries, lists and carousels.

Built for creators, publishers and media sites that already publish on YouTube and
want viewers to stay on their own site. It is free and needs no API key.

#### YOUR CHANNELS AS A TV, ON YOUR OWN SITE

One video fills the screen and scrolling stops. Each swipe, wheel turn or arrow 
key moves exactly one video. Up and down or J and K go to the next or previous video.
Left and right change channel with the channel name in the middle. M mutes. A tap
plays or pauses. When a video ends the next one starts.

You can show channels as buttons along the top, as a guide down the left side, as
a guide that also shows each channel’s next three videos where you can click one
to play it, or as video only. On phones the guide opens from a Channels button so
the video keeps the full width.

#### SEVEN WAYS TO SHOW YOUR VIDEOS

 * **TV:** One video fills the screen and a swipe or arrow key brings the next.
 * **Theater:** A big player with the channel’s videos listed beside it. The next
   video plays when one ends.
 * **Gallery:** A grid of the latest videos in 1 to 6 columns. Videos play in place
   or in a lightbox.
 * **List:** Thumbnail, title, views, date and description in one video per row.
 * **Shorts:** The channel’s Shorts as vertical cards, played in a vertical lightbox.
 * **Latest video:** Always the newest upload and it updates itself.
 * **Carousel:** A sideways row of videos you can scroll or swipe.

#### KEEP VIEWERS ON YOUR SITE

 * **Continue reading:** A slim ticker under the TV scrolls your latest articles
   or one category so viewers keep reading.
 * **Sponsor bar:** A strip along the bottom of the TV keeps sponsors in view. You
   can rotate them one at a time, show two side by side, or keep one. Logos come
   from the media library and every link is marked sponsored.

#### FAST, FREE, NO API KEY

A video loads a YouTube player only when it plays and until then it is a thumbnail.
Videos come from YouTube’s public feed so there is no Google API key to set up and
no quota to run out of.

Also free are channels and playlists as sources, a channel header with a Subscribe
button, a search box and a Load more button, the option to show, hide or isolate
YouTube Shorts, VideoObject structured data, and YouTube’s privacy-enhanced player(
youtube-nocookie.com).

#### SHORTCODES

Place the TV with the TV Player for YouTube Channels block or the [youtube_tv] shortcode.

 * `[youtube_tv]` full screen TV
 * `[youtube_tv fullscreen="no"]` the TV inside the page
 * `[youtube_tv tv_style="guide"]` with a channel guide (`guide_grid` adds each 
   channel’s next three videos, `solo` shows only the video)
 * `[youtube_tv layout="theater"]`
 * `[youtube_tv layout="gallery" columns="3"]`
 * `[youtube_tv layout="list"]`
 * `[youtube_tv layout="carousel"]`
 * `[youtube_tv layout="shorts"]`
 * `[youtube_tv layout="latest"]`

From the team behind [YouTube to Article](https://wordpress.org/plugins/article-from-youtube/),
which turns your videos into posts.

### External services

This plugin connects to these services:

 * **YouTube (Google):** channel pages on youtube.com are read once, when you add
   a channel, to find its channel id. The public feed at https://www.youtube.com/
   feeds/videos.xml is read to list the channel’s videos (cached for an hour). Thumbnails
   load from i.ytimg.com and videos play through the privacy-enhanced player at 
   youtube-nocookie.com, in your visitors’ browsers. Terms: https://www.youtube.
   com/t/terms Privacy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

## Screenshots

[⌊The full-screen TV with the channel guide and the Continue reading ticker.⌉⌊The
full-screen TV with the channel guide and the Continue reading ticker.⌉[

The full-screen TV with the channel guide and the Continue reading ticker.

[⌊The full-screen TV with channel buttons along the top.⌉⌊The full-screen TV with
channel buttons along the top.⌉[

The full-screen TV with channel buttons along the top.

[⌊The Theater layout with a big player and videos listed beside it.⌉⌊The Theater
layout with a big player and videos listed beside it.⌉[

The Theater layout with a big player and videos listed beside it.

[⌊The Gallery layout with a channel header, Subscribe button and search box.⌉⌊The
Gallery layout with a channel header, Subscribe button and search box.⌉[

The Gallery layout with a channel header, Subscribe button and search box.

[⌊The List layout with one video per row, thumbnail, title, views, date and description.⌉⌊
The List layout with one video per row, thumbnail, title, views, date and description
.⌉[

The List layout with one video per row, thumbnail, title, views, date and description.

[⌊The Carousel layout with a sideways row of videos and Continue reading ticker 
below.⌉⌊The Carousel layout with a sideways row of videos and Continue reading ticker
below.⌉[

The Carousel layout with a sideways row of videos and Continue reading ticker below.

[⌊The settings page listing channels, TV style choices and bottom bar options.⌉⌊
The settings page listing channels, TV style choices and bottom bar options.⌉[

The settings page listing channels, TV style choices and bottom bar options.

## Blocks

This plugin provides 1 block.

 *   TV Player for YouTube Channels

## Installation

 1. Install and activate the plugin.
 2. Open TV Player for YouTube Channels in the admin menu and paste your channel link
    or @handle.
 3. Add the “TV Player for YouTube Channels” block, or the `[youtube_tv]` shortcode,
    to any page.

## FAQ

### Do I need a YouTube API key?

No. Videos come from YouTube’s public feed, so there is no Google API key to set
up and no quota to run out of.

### Will it slow down my page?

Only the video that is playing loads a YouTube player. Every other video stays a
thumbnail until it plays.

### Can I show more than one channel?

Yes. Add as many channels as you like. On the TV, left and right switch channel 
and the channel guide lists them all.

### Can I use a playlist instead of a channel?

Yes. Playlists work as sources, the same as channels.

### What about YouTube Shorts?

The Shorts layout displays the channel’s Shorts as vertical cards and opens them
in a vertical lightbox. In the other layouts you can show, hide or isolate YouTube
Shorts as you prefer.

### Does it work with my theme or page builder?

Yes. The [youtube_tv] shortcode works in any editor or page builder that accepts
shortcodes. The block works in the block editor.

### What does it load from YouTube, and when?

Videos play through youtube-nocookie.com, which is YouTube’s privacy-enhanced player
for embeds on your site. Until a viewer presses play only a thumbnail from i.ytimg.
com loads, so no YouTube player runs on the page.

### Is there a paid version?

No. Every layout and every channel is free, with no paid tier and no account to 
create.

## Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

## Contributors & Developers

“TV Player for YouTube Channels” is open source software. The following people have
contributed to this plugin.

Contributors

 *   [ StartupHub.ai ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/startuphubai/)

[Translate “TV Player for YouTube Channels” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/tv-player-for-youtube-channels)

### Interested in development?

[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tv-player-for-youtube-channels/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/tv-player-for-youtube-channels/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/tv-player-for-youtube-channels/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/tv-player-for-youtube-channels/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).

## Changelog

#### 1.0.0

 * First release: TV, gallery and carousel layouts, a block and a shortcode, swipe
   and keyboard controls.
 * Full screen TV by default: one video in view, the page does not scroll, one video
   per swipe or wheel turn, with a parallax slide. fullscreen=”no” keeps it inside
   the page.
 * TV styles: channel bar, channel guide on the left, guide with each channel’s 
   next three videos, or video only. Set a site default under TV style, or per block
   and shortcode (tv_style). On phones the guide is a drawer behind a Channels button.
 * Seven views: TV, theater, gallery, list, carousel, Shorts and latest video. Lightbox
   player, channel header with Subscribe, search, Load more, Shorts filter, playlists
   as sources, VideoObject structured data.
 * Bottom bar under the TV: a Continue reading ticker of your articles, and a sponsor
   bar (rotate, two side by side, or one).

## Meta

 *  Version **1.0.0**
 *  Last updated **7 hours ago**
 *  Active installations **Fewer than 10**
 *  WordPress version ** 6.0 or higher **
 *  Tested up to **7.1.4**
 *  PHP version ** 7.4 or higher **
 * Tags
 * [youtube](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/youtube/)[youtube feed](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/youtube-feed/)
   [youtube gallery](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/youtube-gallery/)[youtube player](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/youtube-player/)
   [youtube playlist](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/youtube-playlist/)
 *  [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tv-player-for-youtube-channels/advanced/)

## Ratings

No reviews have been submitted yet.

[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/tv-player-for-youtube-channels/reviews/#new-post)

[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/tv-player-for-youtube-channels/reviews/)

## Contributors

 *   [ StartupHub.ai ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/startuphubai/)

## Support

Got something to say? Need help?

 [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/tv-player-for-youtube-channels/)