The living room has become a central battleground for YouTube as more people turn to TV screens. Now the Google-owned platform is trying to make watching video on TV more interactive, in formats like Live and Shorts, the new job listings are appearing.
The shift is reflected in a wave of recent job postings on YouTube that focus on “living room” experiences in products, design and engineering, spanning live streaming, Shorts on TV and subscription features. These point to a broader push to deepen engagement on the bigger screen. The move comes as connected TVs account for more than 44% of YouTube viewing time in the US in 2026, up from about 41% in 2022, according to eMarketer data shared with TechCrunch.
Job listings refer to attributes such as chat, gift and multi-device controls for live screening, alongside efforts to create Shorts more interactive and community-driven on television. Some roles emphasize shared lived experiences that connect creators and audiences in real time, while others emphasize work with connected TV and streaming device partners to expand distribution. Other listings also show work with media partners and products such as YouTube Primetime channels as part of efforts to grow YouTube’s TV offerings.
Recruitment covers USA and India. Additionally, many listings show plans for expand a YouTube Live engineering node in Bengaluru focused on modernizing live streaming for living room surfaces.
The push comes as YouTube introduces new features aimed at the living room, including AI-powered voice search on TVs. It’s also working on a second-screen “TV Companion” feature that lets viewers interact with videos from their phones, and has introduced “Stations,” 24/7 linear streams, as was mentioned from The Verge. Last month, YouTube entered into a partnership with FIFA around the 2026 FIFA World Cup to deliver what it described as an “immersive” viewing experience across devices. The efforts come as the platform’s TV presence continues to grow, with YouTube now represents 12.5% of all televisions.
However, making television more interactive remains a challenge. Even as YouTube pushes to expand its presence on TV, engagement on the bigger screen has historically lagged behind mobile and desktop. “Viewers don’t interact with TV screens the same way they interact with phones. It’s clunky,” said Ross Benes, senior analyst for TV and streaming at eMarketer.
He added that interactive features on television have so far remained niche, limiting their impact on viewer behavior.
Despite the challenges, YouTube’s market position could give it an advantage as it experiments with new formats on television. “YouTube straddles the line between social streaming and standard streaming, and continues to transcend each. YouTube doesn’t just lead a category, it’s its own category.” Benes told TechCrunch.
Whether YouTube can translate its TV dominance into more interactive viewing remains to be seen, particularly as user behavior on the bigger screen continues to diverge from mobile.
YouTube did not respond to a request for comment.
