It happens to everyone. You're settled in for the game or the latest episode of House of the Dragon, and suddenly, giant white blocks of text start swallowing half the screen. Sometimes it's a "helpful" feature that turned itself on after an update. Other times, your cat stepped on the remote. Whatever the reason, figuring out how to turn off closed captioning on YouTube TV isn't always as intuitive as it should be, especially since the interface looks different depending on whether you’re using a Roku, an Apple TV, or just a web browser.
Let’s be real: captions are a lifesaver when the dialogue is whispered or the mixing is terrible. But when they’re lagging three seconds behind the audio, they’re just a distraction.
Why the CC Icon Isn't Always Where You Think
Google loves to hide settings. It’s a thing they do.
On most streaming services, you expect a dedicated button on the remote. YouTube TV doesn't play by those rules. Because the app runs on everything from a $20 Chromecast to a $3,000 OLED Sony, the "path" to the toggle switch changes based on the hardware in your hand.
If you're watching on a smart TV or a gaming console like a PS5, the trick is usually "Up." Not down. Pressing "down" usually brings up the progress bar and suggested channels. To turn off closed captioning on YouTube TV on a big screen, you typically need to press the "Select" or "OK" button first, then navigate up to the three-dot "More" menu or the CC icon itself.
It’s finicky. You might have to click two or three times just to get the menu to stay on the screen.
The Remote Shortcut Struggle
Samsung and LG owners often get frustrated because their TV remotes have a "CC" button that works for cable or local antenna TV but does absolutely nothing inside the YouTube TV app. This is a common point of confusion. The app's internal software overrides the TV's hardware settings. You have to use the on-screen interface, not the physical button on your clicker.
Step-by-Step: Turning Off Captions on Living Room Devices
For those using a Roku, Fire Stick, Apple TV, or a native Smart TV app, the process is largely standardized now, even if it feels clunky.
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- Start playing any live or recorded video.
- Press the "Select" or "Center" button on your remote.
- Look for the three vertical dots (the "More" icon) or the "CC" box at the bottom or top right of the player controls.
- Navigate to "Captions."
- Select "Off."
Interestingly, if you’re an Apple TV user, you can often swipe down on the touchpad to bring up the info bar, which includes the subtitle settings. It’s one of the few places where the Siri Remote actually feels useful instead of like a fragile glass slipper.
When the Settings Won't Stick
There is a weird glitch—well, maybe not a glitch, but a "feature"—where captions turn back on every time you change the channel. This usually happens if the system-level accessibility settings on your device are enabled. For example, if you have "Captions: Always On" toggled in your Roku’s main settings menu, YouTube TV might keep forcing them back on.
Go to your device's home screen, find "Accessibility" or "Captions" in the main settings, and make sure it’s toggled off there first.
Dealing with Mobile and Desktop
Watching on a laptop? It’s much easier.
Hover your mouse over the video. Look for the "CC" icon in the bottom right corner. If it has a red underline, it’s on. Click it once. It turns off. Done.
On mobile (iOS or Android), it's a bit more "tap-heavy." Tap the screen once to show the overlays. Tap the three dots in the top right corner. Select "Captions" from the list. Choose "Don't show captions."
The interesting part about the mobile app is that it often respects the "Live" vs. "VOD" (Video on Demand) distinction differently. Sometimes, VOD content has hard-coded captions that you can't actually turn off, though that's rare on YouTube TV specifically. Usually, if you can't turn them off, it's because they are "burned-in" to the broadcast itself—think of a news crawl or a foreign language translation provided by the network.
The Problem with "Baked-In" Captions
You might find that you’ve gone through all the steps to turn off closed captioning on YouTube TV and the text is still there.
Frustrating? Yes. Fixable? Maybe not.
Some networks, particularly international news channels or local public access stations, occasionally broadcast with "Open Captions." Unlike "Closed Captions" (CC), which you can toggle, Open Captions are part of the actual video signal. They are literally pixels on the screen. If you see captions that look different from the standard YouTube TV font—maybe they have a different background color or a weird blocky font—they might be part of the feed. In that case, no amount of menu-diving will remove them.
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Customizing Instead of Killing
Sometimes people want to turn off captions not because they hate them, but because they’re ugly.
Yellow text on a black background? It looks like a 1990s VHS tape.
If you go back into that "Captions" menu where you found the "Off" button, look for "Options" or "Settings." YouTube TV actually gives you a decent amount of control. You can change the opacity of the background, make the text smaller, or change the font to something less offensive like Roboto or Helvetica.
Reducing the text size to 50% often solves the "it's blocking the scoreboard" problem without losing the ability to understand what that one guy with the thick accent just said.
A Note on System-Wide Overrides
We briefly touched on this, but it’s worth a deeper look because it’s the #1 reason people fail when trying to turn off closed captioning on YouTube TV.
Modern operating systems—especially Android TV and tvOS—have deep accessibility hooks. If you have "Hearing Impaired" modes active at the OS level, the app might be receiving a command to display captions regardless of what you click in the player.
- On Fire TV: Go to Settings > Accessibility > Closed Captioning.
- On Android/Google TV: Go to Settings > System > Accessibility > Captions.
- On iOS: Settings > Accessibility > Subtitles & Captioning.
If these are "On," they act as a master override. Turn them off here first, then go back into the YouTube TV app.
Does it affect my data?
Technically, closed captions are tiny text files. They don't use any meaningful amount of data. Turning them off won't save your data cap or stop your video from buffering. If your stream is lagging, the captions aren't the culprit; it’s likely your ISP or a local Wi-Fi interference issue.
Specific Quirks for Sports Fans
If you're watching the "Multi-view" feature—where you watch four games at once—captions can be a nightmare. Currently, YouTube TV only supports audio and captions for the "focused" window (the one with the yellow border).
If you turn off captions in Multi-view, it should apply to the whole screen, but sometimes when you "pop out" a single game to full screen, the captions reappear. This is because the "Full Screen" version of the stream is technically a different feed than the "Multi-view" version. You'll have to toggle it again.
Actionable Steps for a Clean Screen
To ensure your screen stays clear of unwanted text, follow this specific order of operations:
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- Check the Source: Ensure the captions aren't part of the actual broadcast (if they look "weird" or don't match the YouTube TV style, you're stuck with them).
- Toggle the App Setting: Use the "Up" or "Select" button on your remote to find the CC icon or the "More" (three dots) menu and select "Off."
- Kill the Master Switch: If the captions return on the next channel, go to your device's main settings menu (Roku, Apple TV, Fire Stick) and disable system-wide captions under the Accessibility tab.
- Restart the App: If all else fails, force-close the YouTube TV app and restart it. Sometimes the "Off" command doesn't register until the session is refreshed.
- Check Other Profiles: YouTube TV settings are often profile-specific. If you share an account with someone who needs captions, their settings might be bleeding over if you're using their profile. Switch to your own sub-account to keep your preferences saved.
By following these layers of settings, you can finally get back to your show without a wall of text blocking the view. If you ever need them back, the process is the same—just look for that CC icon and toggle it to your preferred language.