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Feature Request: Apple TV 4 needs a way to watch TV shows from multiple sources in one universal app

Apple released the new Apple TV in the fall. Despite the clunkier fatter physical appearance, the new Apple TV 4 features better performance, a cool new Siri Remote touchpad and an App Store. The App Store unlocks unlimited potential for the Apple TV as a content platform: rather than waiting for content deals between Apple and the networks, TV channels can release their own apps as they please. When the new Apple TV was announced, Tim Cook said the ‘future of TV is apps’. It is true this is a substantial improvement over the previous-generation Apple TV in terms of content (for UK residents like me, addition of BBC iPlayer is a huge win) however there are big user-experience issues with the app model that current Apple TV software does not address …

Everything is segregated into apps, which means to watch TV, I have to constantly switch between the Home Screen and an app just to check the channels and content inside each sandboxed application. You have the cognitive load of remembering which app (Netflix, CBS, BBC, iTV, etcetera) contains the show you are looking for. Each app has completely different UI, so watching a show from one network against another can yield very different results in terms of enjoyment, because of the quality of the corresponding app each show comes from.

For my personal Apple TV watching habits, I have to contrast the user experience between Now TV and iPlayer. iPlayer is the good citizen here. It has rich media visuals with bright colours signifying each channel’s section. You can also jump straight to live broadcasts from the same view. There are also several category options to further refine and search for something interesting to watch. Most importantly, there is content to watch available instantly on application launch.

Now TV is terrible, by comparison. The categorization is somewhat random and requires a lot of scrolling grids to drill down to a show. If you finish watching an episode, the app returns you to the main menu and forgets which season you are currently in the middle of, requiring more fuss and micro-management after the end of each episode. These inconveniences add up. I want everything to be as elegant as the iTunes Store experience, regardless of who owns the content or where it is bought.

The biggest problem, however, with all of these apps is there is generally no way to favorite or bookmark specific shows. With most of the apps, there is no facility to say ‘I like this show, make it easier for me to find it in the future’. You have to hunt and peck every time you sit down on the couch. The Netflix app is a bit better because it has a ‘My List’ feature, but it’s only accessible from within the Netflix app. This is a huge step back in usability from a cable TV experience.

With a DVR, you simply record shows and they appear automatically collated into a menu of active subscriptions. When new episodes arrive, you can just scroll the list and watch them. There’s no jumping between apps or channels — it’s one simple list of new TV. You don’t have to initiate different actions and menus for every type of content. All networks and shows are basically treated equally.

Squire will unify your TV shows into one interface … if you manage your own media from a computer or NAS.

This is my feature request for Apple TV. I want Apple to add a feature where I can subscribe to shows from any source into one centralised ‘TV Shows’ application. Sort of like an RSS reader, new episodes across all networks would automatically arrive in this one place — an ‘inbox’ of TV as it were. Think of it like bookmarks in a web browser. Clicking on a show could launch the native app with the corresponding TV show ready to watch with one click. I want unification in the same way a DVR works. Regardless of what company owns the rights to it, as longs I have paid for it, it should show up in this one single unified place. Imagine Newsstand … but for Apple TV television shows.

When it comes to watching TV, I can now open one canonical app and see everything that I’m interested in removing the need to hunt in each app for possible new stuff. Perhaps Apple could badge the Home Screen icon with the number of unwatched episodes automatically too, so you can know as soon as you wake the device if there is something ready to watch. There is no solution to this with current Apple TV. Theoretically, you could laboriously voice search for every show every time you sit down in front of the TV set but that’s just an unrealistic proposition  … even if you did do that, it’s still a manual process to see if there are new episodes available.

Similarly, as more live content comes to Apple TV, there should be a centralized universal TV guide where users can go and see all live content currently airing, just like an EPG. Scroll through everything at once, no diving in and out of apps.

Right now, Apple TV has a limited form of this through Siri and universal search. It lets you think about TV shows and not the networks they come from. However, it isn’t permanent. A Siri request is forgotten as soon as it is dismissed. It does seem like Apple could build on these integrations for the hypothetical ‘TV Favorites’ app however. There may be some value in having a centralized Films library too, however you don’t return to the same films week after week so it’s less of a problem with that medium to find what you want separately.

Netflix has a Favourites feature through ‘My List’, but it only works with Netflix content.

Obviously, this feature request is a bit pie in the sky. I think Apple would love to have a feature like this; integration and simplification is the name of the game. However, I feel like TV networks would hate the idea of Apple showing their licensed content alongside everyone else’s in a UI controlled by Apple. This is the sticking point here: getting everyone to agree that it is okay. Even Siri universal search is limited to just a few partners in a handful of countries right now.

One small step Apple could take is to make this feature and publish an API for other third-party apps to integrate with. At least then, Apple has theoretically made the feature available. It would then be up to content providers to add support for the feature on a case-by-case basis.

The long-rumored Apple cable subscription service could be the answer. Although it wouldn’t have everything, a skinny bundle of 30-40 channels would probably be the single largest collection of TV shows on Apple TV (that isn’t the pay-per-episode iTunes Store). If Apple could present all of this content in one unified app interface, it would go a long way in replicating the traditional cable DVR experience.

However, as it stands today, having all TV separated by app with no central location to find everything is a pain. Sadly, the best answer is piracy. Using an app like Plex or Squire (pictured above) you can have everything collated into one consolidated experience, as long as you can be bothered to find the shows through illegal channels.

The future of TV is apps, but in addition, there needs to be a unifying layer to glue it all together into a coherent experience. Ultimately, Apple TV should be the answer for this and it probably will be in the future — the question is how soon?

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Comments

  1. Alex Moran - 8 years ago

    Anyone see Samsung new tv range at CES. ? ripped off Apple TV UI. average consumer will see it as “same thing why do I need Apple TV”

    • Inaba-kun (@Inaba_kun) - 8 years ago

      Apple don’t own a copyright on white backgrounds with icons on top.

      • Craig Schober - 8 years ago

        Let them “rip off” each other. Samsung has the much harder job of convincing people they need a new TV on top of learning a new interface.

      • Atlas (@Metascover) - 8 years ago

        Ridiculous defense, as usual :
        – translucent background
        – rectangular icons with rounded borders
        – app-content preview line
        – selected icon is zoomed and has a drop shadow

        Not only is it all EXACTLY like on the Apple TV, but Samsung’s Smart Hub didn’t have ANY of this before.

        So no, it’s not just a white background, and as usual saying the contrary is being in bad faith.

  2. trevnics - 8 years ago

    I was thinking this last night. Or they could at least integrate a PIP type deal. I feel that would be very useful

    • Jonny - 8 years ago

      I can’t wait for the iOS 9 PIP framework makes its way over to tvOS (or if it has, for it be used).

    • Craig Schober - 8 years ago

      Exactly. PIP has been around for 25 years on TVs and a few years on mobile devices. I never use PIP for those platforms. Apple TV is completely different and every single time I’m browsing around for new apps or searching for programs to watch, I wish I could have a small frame playing live or some predetermined content in the background for me.

  3. What you are asking four sounds a lot like TiVo’s One Pass feature.

  4. Bill Krueger - 8 years ago

    I’m using Plex and I do not pirate any content.

  5. davidt4n - 8 years ago

    I strongly recommend tvOS to become open source for major TV manufacturers, with these TV can be changed forever. Also, it can speed up Apple league in TV business.

    • Darrell - 8 years ago

      Apple expects the same experience for all users. With every TV using the software it would be very difficult to test and troubleshoot and would blemish the company’s brand.

      • rahhbriley - 8 years ago

        You’re right, and I believe the hardware box is the compromise between installing tvOS on any TV for maximum reach, and being forced to buy an full fledged Apple Television with low margins, high costs and long upgrade cycles.

  6. rogifan - 8 years ago

    I think the question is, is the future of TV really apps? I’d say no. With extensions and now 3D Touch Apple is starting to get a way from the app model a bit and allowing you to do things without having to open an app. It would be a real shame if content companies were forcing Apple to keep content sandboxed in a specific app. That’s one thing I don’t like about TV…the home screen is just a list of apps. I’d love to turn it on and see more contextual information based on my viewing habits.

  7. friedmud1 - 8 years ago

    I think TV Show “Favorites” is a good idea… and seems possible even with the current implementation of universal search. One way this could happen is if they open up the Universal Search API so that _Apps_ can query it (instead of just Siri). This would allow for app developers to innovate their own solutions. We could even see the rise of “smart” TV Guide like services that tell you about new shows and do recommendations.

    I think that this is what’s exciting about the new Apple TV: there are many possibilities and a lot of promise for the future.

    • Jonny - 8 years ago

      Though it could take a while to get there, I think the Siri universal search is the solution we’ll get. Provided that it can work well with any app that hooks into it (vs being driven by Apple adding apps), the end result would be close enough – for me at least (one step to access the show I want).

  8. YES, this feature would be so nice, I hate having to go from app to app, just to find the TV shows that I want to watch!

  9. JBDragon - 8 years ago

    As a cable cutter now for a few years, I know the issues. You no longer have a DVR hooked up to every channel under the sun. All under one interface. Trying to get something like that on AppleTV or a ROKU or anything else will be pretty impossible. Everyone wants to do their own thing. There’s no standard anything really. how would such a thing eve work? A lot of this, you don’t have to watch LIVE or record to a DVR, you can watch whenever,

    I use a Antenna to get the Major broadcast channels and use a TIVO to record them. That allows me to save CAP data and get great HD results on shows on the same night their air and I can skip the commercials. All that is FREE. I also have Netflix and Amazon. That’s programming I can watch at any time. After doing things for a while a new way, you learn where to go to get and watch the content you want. The other way are App’s or a web browser for things like JustWatch which you can get a App for iOS. It supports just about every streaming service out there. This allows you to search for something, and tell you where you can find it and if it’s free streaming from Netflix or Amazon or something or if you can rent or buy and where from. Both for Movies and TV Shows. It works quite well. I’d like to see it on AppleTV and maybe just auto go to the source you want after you find it.

    You’ll never have a single App where you can go for all your Amazon, Netflix, HULU+, HBO NOW, and so on and so on Content all in a single place. All these places, none want to you leave and go someplace else.

    • Cole (@LV_Hawki) - 8 years ago

      My Xbox one does all this plus DVR function and I have my apple tv 4 plugged into the HDMI in, for Airplay! It’s the best! They have a local guide for my OTA, and it combines my apps and tells me what’s on and what shows from all apps.

      • Tim Cleary - 8 years ago

        How do you get DVR on your Xbox One? I’ve read about that feature coming soon, but so far I’ve not been able to use it.

      • Craig Schober - 8 years ago

        I have never heard a single good thing about Xbox being used as a content delivery service for TV. I thought even MS announced that they stopped all development on trying to use Xbox as a stop box for living room entertainment. At least that’s the sentiment out there.

    • ryanericksen - 8 years ago

      You can also use a Channelmaster to record OTA content. The box is more expensive, but it works very well, and no subscription fees like TIVO. It also seems to have very good support with regular updates.

  10. I would be happy if Apple let you add movies and Tv shows to the up next playlist.

  11. You don’t need to do this with a complete new app… but it would be good if they could add additional services so that the apple tv knew what you’ve been watching repentantly (so you can resume), a “watch list”, etc

  12. just-a-random-dude - 8 years ago

    Basically something like JustWatch for iOS app but integrated into tvOS.

    Unfortunately, the networks are the biggest cause behind the lack of innovations and progress that could be made if they just stop whining and release their content via APIs with paid subscriptions.

  13. bdkennedy1 - 8 years ago

    I’ve pretty much given up on the whole “channel app” thing. Without a program guide, I don’t know what’s on at the time I’m watching. Out of frustration, the only thing I really use my Apple TV for is Hulu.

  14. jeamland - 8 years ago

    Look, I agree that it would be great from a user perspective, but the licensing would never allow it. Licensing of video content is at the crux of the shift from broadcast to streaming and there’s simply no way that anyone will give up “ownership” of that streaming experience. If Netflix pays $100M for rights to a show, they want to own the user experience so they can get you to watch other shows that they also have.

    Frankly, I’m surprised that they got the content providers to allow the Siri search in multiple apps :)

  15. As somebody with a reasonably large number of stored television series, I would also request that they alter the manner in which series are listed within the Computers app. By listing my 70 saved series as their 210 individual seasons (some having as many as 11 thereof), it becomes an arduous and time consuming task to scroll through the overly-horizontally-sensitive menu if I fancy watching a show in the latter half of the alphabet. Recently, when trying to expose my mother to the series Veep, it took me almost ten attempts to reach the end of the menu without accidentally scrolling across to “unwatched” and resetting the list.

    Simply by offering an option to list them (as is done automatically in iTunes) by show first, and then a submenu to choose season would make this feature significantly more usable for those of us who are committed to ownership.

  16. RP - 8 years ago

    Great post.
    I know the whole app model is new and Apple has instilled major restrictions, but I wonder how much leeway Apple willl eventually allo?.
    The home screen is pretty static, I wonder if it will allow consumers to choose an app with interactive content as a start screen as you could on a desktop computer.or tradition television.
    I see that as the start of a modern tv ecperiance.
    Actually I’m suppress Apple itself hasn’t had its own portal type home screen as an option.

    Turning on the tv and having an apps that acts as portals/channels that resume where you left off when you turn your tv back to ESPN, HBO, a Facebook portal channel. I think we have just barely touched the tip of what TV can do, The tip of how it can be monitized, and the tip of its potential. It’s all on Apple to see how much they are willing let leg go or if they will suffocate their baby before it had time to walk.

    If Apple doesn’t set it free or allow it to walk run or fly, no doubt someone else will.

  17. RP - 8 years ago

    Just dawned on me that the Internet experience started out on a big screen, the went to the small screen of our phones, and now it’s coming back to an even bigger screen than where it started.

    But in the transition from big to small, it had to lose a lot because of the initial limitations of early smart phones. And now as it heads back, it had to lose all those limitations and it’s been stunted in certatain ways.
    It now needs to be allowed to explore again. And maybe the restraints of apps that were so perfect for little screens with less capable little chips and little memory, maybe it time now for bigger things as its back to the bigger screen.
    Maybe it all has to be completely rethought to think big again.

  18. taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

    Really don’t need an app just universal search that launches the appropriate app.

    My main feature is signing into your cable or satellite subscription in the subscription setting and authorizing all the apps the provider supports at one time.

  19. Inaba-kun (@Inaba_kun) - 8 years ago

    An obvious next step, but one which will obviously never happen. When you fire up Netflix you are completely contained within Netflix’s world. All you see is Netflix content, whether you’re using the app on an Apple device, a Google device, or any other. Why would they ever give that up?

    Of course if Siri Search actually worked with more than just Netflix and iTunes it would be a huge help, but I think it ultimately will come down to the content providers making better apps. The Now TV app is stunningly awful on the Apple TV, almost unusable in fact, but on a EVERY other platform Sky have a standardised and hugely superior app design. It has a fairly attractive graphical UI, a watchlist/favourites feature, it queues up the next episode and remembers which ones you’ve watched, and presents suggestions for what else to watch. Perhaps someday Sky will give Apple TV subscribers the same app as they give to Roku, Xbox, and Playstation subscribers. Or perhaps they won’t,who knows. Right now though, the app is a train wreck which survives entirely upon the few exclusive shows Sky have. Take away Game of Thrones and a light smattering of other HBO shows and I doubt anyone would know it exists.

    There is a certain logic in allowing content providers to create totally bespoke apps though. The old Apple TV was so crude every “app” was forced to adopt the same MS-DOS style interface. Probably the ugliest interface ever created and it totally stripped content providers of any sort of tailored experience. Take the fantastic film steaming service MUBI for an example of other end of the spectrum. Their app is absolutely perfect for their service, and it’s absolutely beautiful. If their content was forced into a fixed template generic app it would take away a sizeable chunk of their appeal and charm.

    Incidentally if you want to watch live TV from a single interface that’s already possible, just download the TVPlayer app. Apple even feature it on the “what to watch” section of the store. PQ is terrible though.

  20. Inaba-kun (@Inaba_kun) - 8 years ago

    Microsoft have something along these lines in the Xbox One, but is has very limited third party support at the moment. It displays a feed of new and featured content on the home screen in the same format as a TV guide. Could be really nice, but only Amazon and a few other support it. Even Netflix are ignoring it so far.

  21. It feels like this idea comes up too often for it not to have legs. Six Colors ran a similar Wish List feature on it a month back.

    The one thing I’ll disagree with here is that I don’t see the companies pushing back to strongly against this. Having integration at the system level makes for MORE usage, not less. Depending on how Apple allows them to brand their entry in the *global queue*, it could be a boon.

    http://latetotheparty.co/building-better-tv-interfaces/#global-queue

  22. PMZanetti - 8 years ago

    …But, what you asked for is what they are solving with Siri. Siri is that universal app. And it also lets you skip past several layers of navigation that any App would have.
    Siri just needs widespread full support across every App on the TV, and then it will be the thing to use.

  23. Jim Hassinger - 8 years ago

    Well, if the various suppliers would get off their butts and make their programming available for Siri, that would be a universal search. Folders, coming in the next upgrade of tvOS, would be a good thing.

  24. So kind of like the iOS News app but for tv shows. Interesting. I like this idea a lot.

  25. Atlas (@Metascover) - 8 years ago

    Apple TV was supposed to be a revolution of TV when in fact it is terrible at doing the most basic thing it is supposed to do, TV.
    It’s impossible to zap from one channel to another, this is just another box that I have to you with my provider’s TV box. I want to have apps AND TV channels that I can switch quickly, a TV guide with all the common functions like recording, ecc…

    • Craig Schober - 8 years ago

      Sounds like you just want TV. You’re never going to get what you want with the way the industry is heading. Series are being presented for binge watching or commercial free watching. You choose a show and watch 1 or 10 episodes in a row. You do not watch a show for 2 minutes or until the next commercial break and then choose a different show or network. That’s what TV does already.

  26. Jonas Graae Rasmussen - 8 years ago

    I hope apple will make some of these features available in the remote app, instead of the tvos. Apps are better on our ipads and iphones, and could make the experience a lot better. This could Also be difficult to implement with content providers though :/

    But be a huge deal if apple bought times warner, and incorporated the content in the remote app, next to itunes content

  27. I’ve submitted a number of requests with Apple pertaining to these issues. Feel free to do the same at http://www.apple.com/feedback/ The more people who make these requests, the more likely Apple will move up the priority on them. All of the things mentioned, though, can be easily done with the current operating system if an app were written that took advantage of push notifications and app-based URLs (i.e., bookmark support). And, if an app/station has an issue with their content living next to a competitor’s content, this can easily be solved by the fact a user could easily select the logo of the station and see more content. The affordance such an app might use would be to expand a section just below the particular content, allowing the user to see other content above or below that item. If the user wants to move on, they could do so. An app that uses this particular method of immediate disclosure with the option of full viewing is OmniFocus.

  28. Robert Wood - 8 years ago

    Apple-TV is good platform and I am sure as cord cutting accelerate, more demand pressure will be to develop similar centralized “TV Guide” kind of interface/App will be born. The fight between Cable TV companies and customer’s desire to subscribe and stream ala-carte, where and whenever you want to watch will continue until shifts in favor of later. Moreover, what makes me mad is company like Amazon whose Prime instant video has not yet released native app for Apple-tv or android-tv. So, set-top boxes like Roku or Apple-TV or Android-TV,etc to provide better user experience has long way to go but it will get their for sure.

  29. Max - 8 years ago

    They should start by opening up the Siri API to 3rd party apps. Right now, here in Canada, Siri search results only point to iTunes and Netflix (out of dozen of video apps available on the App Store).

  30. Joe - 8 years ago

    This would be nice, but not needed. I have over 200 apps on my iPhone and have no problem switching between them. I use Netflix, Hulu, iTunes Movies/TV Shows, CBS, and YouTube. It isn’t too hard to switch between them.

    Also, this isn’t something that happens on the iPhone. If I want to listen to music I have to go to either Apple Music, Spotify, or Pandora. I can’t combine them in to one app while each one provides a back end element to it. Again, it would be nice if Apple could design their UI, but not reasonable.

  31. Sean Keo (@SeanKeo1) - 8 years ago

    I really wish this was true too!

    I end up using the site “Episode Calendar” to be my one “shows hub” for keeping track of all new shows and what I have watched and I can access it from all devices but my Apple TV, like a guide always on my iphone or ipad to check whats new.

    Its an extra nuisance though, to be sure.

  32. yojimbo007 - 8 years ago

    Benjamin
    This sounds awfully like what i have been posting everywere for a long long time now !
    My posts “Now i want to see apple allow for favorites tracking through user created intelligent interapp universal folders with notifications. example scifi faves… allows me to consolidate my fave scifi shows from all different apps and sources in one folder.. And then let the folder give me notifications of new shows/episodes availability. …etc.. Like ios folders, with a number showing notifications pertaining that folder !”

  33. Sean Shamus McCabe - 8 years ago

    You do know you can just ask Siri for what show or movie you are looking for and it will show you what apps it’s available in (Hulu, Netflix, iTunes, etc)

  34. Ferdinand Rios - 8 years ago

    Yes, TiVo OnePass is the model for this. They do a great job of centralizing recorded and streaming content and letting me know when knew episodes of either are available. I love one pass but I would love to cut the cable cord and just dream what I want when i want it.

  35. b9bot - 8 years ago

    You don’t need one app to run multiple channels. You have to change the channel on your TV so you can change the app on your Apple TV. The issue here is all the channels belong to separate companies which want to control what they give you and only have rights to make that channel. It would be impossible to combine several channels in one app without complicated negotiations and more fees. It’s just not worth it and you can’t watch two shows at once anyways.

  36. Chad Williams - 8 years ago

    So glad that Tablo is coming out with their Apple TV app this spring. Otherwise, we’d likely return our Apple TV as lack of TV integration and the problems of sifting through network apps has been anything BUT the future of television. To say that Apple oversold this product in their keynote and advertising is quite the understatement.

  37. Brian Spence (@bspence) - 8 years ago

    There are lots of great apps that have live TV. I would like to combine all of those into one app. CNN, HGTV, History, Food, ESPN, etc. Just let me scroll through, see what’s coming up next, etc. I think it would actually give each channel more visibility and exposure, so I doubt they’d have a problem with it. Just call it the live TV app and let channels sign up.

  38. I don’t understand why Apple TV can’t do this already. I have an older model of Roku and it does this just fine. Without much fuss or bother. So, it seems to me that licensing isn’t the problem here. Could it be that Apple just doesn’t play well with anyone outside of it’s own world?

  39. Robert Wood - 8 years ago

    AppleTV also needs apps like SLING to stream watch SOUTH ASIAN channels and Amazon instant video App. Would be nice if comcast supports Xfinity and TWC does same for their TV channels streaming support.

Author

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Benjamin Mayo

Benjamin develops iOS apps professionally and covers Apple news and rumors for 9to5Mac. Listen to Benjamin, every week, on the Happy Hour podcast. Check out his personal blog. Message Benjamin over email or Twitter.