There’s a fun new way to watch YouTube: channel surfing like boom on cable TV. This creative idea comes from London-based developer Steven Irby, who recently launched a web app called Channel Surfer, which presents interesting YouTube videos in an interface that resembles a retro-looking TV guide.
In the app, you can browse different, topic-specific channels and click to tune in as if you were watching live TV.
At launch, there are 40 of these custom-built “channels” to choose from, including those focused on mainstream topics like news, politics, sports, and lifestyle content, as well as a selection of music and other tech-focused channels.
The latter group includes channels such as “AI & ML,” “Code & Dev,” “Space,” “Retro Tech,” “Tech & Gadgets,” and “Gaming.”
As you move between channels, you join the video that is playing in the middle of the stream. Meanwhile, the guide informs you about upcoming content on all channels and what time of day it will air. You can also scroll ahead to view programs scheduled for the next 24 hours.
This makes watching YouTube like watching old-school live TV — an experience proven popular on free streaming services like Plex, Pluto TV, Tubi, and others, which offer live channels that play TV shows and movies. YouTube itself, at the moment, dominates TV streaming in the US
Also, a small counter at the bottom of the screen tracks how many other people are currently watching YouTube with you.
Irby says he came up with the idea of creating a similar experience for broadcasters, but for YouTube videos, because finding something to watch can still be difficult.
“I built Channel Surfer because I was tired of algorithms and decision fatigue,” Irby told TechCrunch. “I miss surfing the channels and not having to decide what to watch. I just want to sit and sing what’s on and not think about what to watch next.”
“My loving mother watches cable TV. I want the same, but through my YouTube channels. Also, it’s incredibly comforting to know I’m watching with other people,” he said.
The project is one of many new experiments from Irby, a 40-year tech industry veteran who has spent the past decade traveling the world.
“I have a lot of wisdom from my long, strange journey. I can no longer bear the thought of being a Jira ticket monkey,” he said.
The app appears to be a hit, with Irby noting that the brand new Channel Surfer website saw more than 10,000 views on its first day.
Under the hood, Channel Surfer, meanwhile, is a static Next.js site running PartyKit and hosted on Cloudflare. The channels and music it offers come from Ibry’s hand-picked list. GitHub Actions is used to run a script that refreshes the data daily. There is no back end yet.
And while Claude helped with the coding process, the site “wasn’t vibe-coded,” Irby said.
Channels themselves play YouTube embeds, including YouTube ads, so the app shouldn’t violate the policy. Eventually, Irby says he would like to bring the app to TV platforms, such as Fire TV, Google TV, and others. (It also works on mobile devices and tablets, but requires more work.)
At launch, Channel Surfer is a free service that provides access to 175 YouTube channels and 25 music playlists. But when you sign up for Irby’s newsletter, you’re given the option to import your YouTube subscription into the app.
It’s a quick and dirty process to do so: You drag the “Channel Surfer” bookmarklet to your bookmarks bar, open your YouTube subscription, and click the bookmarklet. The process starts, it directs you back to the application where you paste the copied JSON text into the box and click the “import” button. This adds your channels to the existing Channel Surfer list, potentially giving you hundreds of channels to watch in this format.
The site’s existence harkens back to the early days of the web, full of fun experiments and creativity. For Irby, that’s the point.
“I’m busy showing the world that the old web is still alive and well,” he said. “It was just buried under a slop mountain.
