StillOnAir – Turn YouTube into programmable, linear TV for free

Name: StillOnAir – Turn YouTube into programmable, linear TV for free
Availability: InStock
Author: nanamichael

by nanamichael·Feb 19, 2026·4 points·1 comment

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AI Analysis

●●SolidCrowd PleaserCozy

YouTube as lean-back cable TV, but YouTube already owns that problem space better.

Strengths

•Clever repositioning of YouTube as passive consumption instead of algorithmic choice paralysis
•Zero server cost: purely client-side scheduling and YT API aggregation
•Nostalgia hook (linear TV) is genuine UX win for tired users

Weaknesses

•YouTube ToS may prohibit automated playlist scheduling at scale; unclear legal risk
•Solves a nice problem but Plex, Jellyfin, and native YouTube do passive watching already

Post Description

Heya

I built StillOnAir, an app that turns YouTube into a lean-back, old-school linear TV experience.

Instead of choosing individual videos, you just press play and surf channels — like cable. Each channel is programmed into a continuous stream built from YouTube videos.

Right now there are ~30 live channels, including: • GameVerse (gaming) • Toontown (animation & cartoons) • Reelhouse (film & movie content) • Total Sports (sports highlights & talk) • And more across tech, entertainment, documentaries, sports etc.

The core idea: bring back a passive cable tv like watching experience, a sitting on the couch and tune in experience.

The added wrinkle is that anyone can create their own network. You can curate YouTube videos, schedule programming blocks, design a lineup, and air your own channel.

It’s essentially programmable internet TV built on top of YouTube — without hosting any video yourself.

Would love feedback if you decide to take it for a spin and happy to answer any technical questions as well.