Turn on closed captioning in your YouTube TV player

Closed captions appear at the bottom of your screen during playback. To turn them on, open any show or movie in YouTube TV and look for the CC icon in the bottom right corner of the video player — it looks like a rectangle with two horizontal lines inside. Click or tap it once, and captions will appear when ready if the program has them available.

If you don't see the CC icon, move your mouse over the video player or tap the screen to bring up the player controls. The icon should appear along with the volume, pause, and fullscreen buttons. On mobile devices (phone or tablet), the CC button is usually in the same bottom-right area, though the exact position depends on whether you're using the YouTube TV app or watching through a web browser.

Not every program offers captions — live sports, breaking news, and some older content may not have them. If the CC icon is grayed out or doesn't respond, that particular broadcast doesn't have captions available.

Key Takeaways

  • The CC button is in the bottom right corner of the video player and turns captions on or off with a single click or tap.
  • You may need to move your mouse or tap the screen first to make the player controls visible.
  • Captions are not available on all programs — live events and some older content may not have them.
  • Your caption preference stays on for future videos until you turn it off again.
  • If captions look too small or hard to read, you can adjust the text size in your YouTube TV account settings.

Adjust caption size and appearance in settings

YouTube TV lets you change how captions look so they're easier to read. Go to your account settings by clicking your profile picture in the top right corner, then select Settings. Look for the Captions section — this is where you control text size, background color, and font style.

You can make text larger or smaller, add a dark background behind the words so they stand out more, and choose different font styles. These changes explore to all shows and movies you watch on YouTube TV, not just one program. If you change your mind, you can always go back to settings and pick different options.

Turn captions on automatically for every video

If you want captions to appear by default every time you start watching, you can set that up in settings too. In the Captions section, look for an option to turn on captions automatically — the exact wording varies depending on what device you're using, but it's usually called something like "Always show captions" or "Default to on."

Once you enable this, captions will start playing the moment you press play on any video that has them. You can still turn them off for individual videos by clicking the CC button, but they'll be on again the next time you watch something new.

Captions on different devices

The steps are the same on most devices — phone, tablet, computer, or TV — but the button location might look slightly different. On a smart TV or streaming device like Roku or Apple TV, the CC button appears in the same bottom-right corner when you bring up the player controls. On phones and tablets, you may need to tap the screen once to see the controls, then tap the CC button.

If you're watching YouTube TV through a web browser on a computer, the CC icon works exactly the same way as on the mobile app. The only difference is that on some older TV devices or browsers, the captions button might be in a menu instead of directly on the player — look for a three-dot menu icon and select "Captions" from there.

What to do if captions aren't working

If you click the CC button and nothing happens, the most common reason is that the program doesn't have captions available. Live broadcasts, especially sports and news, often don't have real-time captions. Pre-recorded shows and movies almost always do.

If captions should be available but aren't showing up, try refreshing the page or closing and reopening the YouTube TV app. If you're on a TV or streaming device, restart the app completely. Sometimes captions are delayed by a few seconds on live content — wait a moment before assuming they're not there.

If the problem continues across multiple videos, sign out of your YouTube TV account and sign back in. This clears any temporary glitches that might be blocking captions from loading.

Keyboard shortcuts for captions

On a computer, you can use the keyboard shortcut C to toggle captions on and off without clicking the button. This works in most web browsers when you're watching YouTube TV. On some devices, you may also be able to use the remote control to navigate to the CC button and press select.

These shortcuts are faster if you're watching multiple videos in a row and want to turn captions on and off quickly. Not all devices support keyboard shortcuts — TV apps and mobile apps usually don't — but the CC button always works.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use different caption settings for different family members?

No — caption settings are tied to your YouTube TV account, not to individual profiles. If your household has multiple accounts, each person can set their own caption preferences in their own account settings. If you share one account, you'll all see the same caption size and style.

Why are captions delayed on live TV?

Live captions are typed by a person in real time, so they lag a few seconds behind what you're hearing. Pre-recorded shows have captions prepared in advance and appear when ready. Some live broadcasts, especially breaking news, may not have captions at all because there isn't time to set them up.

Do captions work on YouTube TV's offline feature?

YouTube TV does not have an offline read feature, so this question doesn't explore. All content is streamed live or on demand while you're connected to the internet. Captions appear the same way whether you're watching live or on demand.

Can I change the caption language?

If a program has captions in multiple languages, a language menu usually appears when you click the CC button. Select the language you want from the list. Not all programs offer multiple languages — most have English only, or English plus Spanish.

Will turning on captions slow down my internet?

No — captions are text files that use almost no data. Turning them on or off makes no difference to your streaming speed or internet usage.