Channel Surfer

About

Channel Surfer is a web app that makes YouTube feel like 2000s cable TV. Instead of an endless feed of thumbnails, you get a scrolling program guide with numbered channels, something always "on", and the simple pleasure of flipping up and down until something catches your eye. It is for anyone tired of choice paralysis, people who like a bit of background TV, and anyone nostalgic for the old TV guide channel. Its appeal is in how faithfully it recreates the ritual. The guide shows what is playing now and what comes next, a live video window sits at the top, and you change channels with the arrow keys or a swipe. It comes with a lineup of built-in channels, and you can bring in your own subscriptions so the guide fills up with creators you already follow. Channel Surfer is made by Random Daily URLs, a small company, and it caught on quickly after its launch in 2026 thanks to its affectionate retro design. Highlights: • Classic grid-style TV guide showing what is on now and next • Channel flipping with the arrow keys, or swipes on phones and tablets • Built-in channels plus import of your own YouTube subscriptions • Show reminders, a sleep timer, weather and live events • Favorites and a favorites-only guide mode (Supporter) • Custom channel mixes, playlist imports and Shorts hiding (Supporter) • Cloud sync of your lineup across devices (Supporter) Watching and importing subscriptions are free; free accounts import with a bookmarklet on a computer. The optional Supporter plan costs US$9 per month or US$59 per year and adds paste-to-channel imports, unlimited channels, custom lineups, sync across screens and priority support. Channel Surfer runs in the browser on desktop, phone and tablet, and a TV version is in the works.

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