Skip to main content

Can I use my YouTube channel as my video source?

Written by Robert Blessing

No, and it is worth explaining why, because this is not a "not yet" or a roadmap item. It is structural, and it will not change.

Why YouTube cannot work

YouTube only allows its videos to be played inside its own player. Its API terms explicitly forbid downloading, caching or storing the video files anywhere else.

A TV app on Roku, Fire TV or Apple TV needs a real playable video stream (an HLS or MP4 file it can hand to the TV's player). YouTube does not hand that over to anyone, by design.

So a "YouTube to TV app" bridge would mean breaking YouTube's terms of service. That carries a real risk to your channel, not just to us: channels have been struck and removed for exactly this. We are not going to build something that puts your channel in danger.

The same applies to websites that embed YouTube. If your videos live on your WordPress site but the player is a YouTube embed, there is still no video file behind it for us to fetch. The embed is a window into YouTube, not a copy of your video.


What to do instead

The good news is that you already own your videos - you produced them, and you have the original files. You just need them hosted somewhere that gives out a real stream. Any of these work, and all of them keep YouTube exactly as it is.

Vimeo (simplest, most common)

Turnkey. You upload to a showcase, we sync from it, new videos appear in your app on their own.

You need a Standard plan or higher (older Pro and Business plans also work). That is the tier where Vimeo gives API access to the video files, which is what makes the sync possible.

Bunny Stream (cheapest)

You keep the videos on your own Bunny account and we pull them in wholesale. Noticeably cheaper than Vimeo at volume, which makes it a good fit for churches, nonprofits and anyone with a large archive. It takes a little more setup than Vimeo.

A JSON feed or HLS URL (if you already host elsewhere)

If your videos are already on a CDN or another platform that gives out a direct stream, you can point us straight at it.


You can keep your YouTube channel

Worth saying plainly, because people often assume this is either/or: nothing here asks you to leave YouTube or take anything down.

Most of our customers keep publishing to YouTube exactly as before, for reach and discovery, and host the same videos on Vimeo or Bunny for the TV app. Same content, two destinations. Your YouTube audience never notices, and your TV viewers get a real app.


Not sure which host fits your library size and budget? Reply here with roughly how many videos you have and how often you publish, and we will tell you which one we would pick.

Did this answer your question?