Apple continues to gain new content partners to support new entertainment features like Single Sign-on, universal Search, and the TV app. Earlier this month SSO gained 10 more TV providers, and today both Search and the TV app have added new channel partners.
Netflix was a major missing piece of Apple’s new TV app when it launched last month, and that’s still the case despite some confusing coverage recently. The confusion is around how Apple’s TV app works with search and opening video apps.
Apple’s new ‘TV’ app has begun rolling out to Apple TV owners in the USA. Apple explained last month that the app is intended to bring together shows from multiple TV apps into a single view.
“Using apps on Apple TV, iPhone and iPad has become the primary way for so many of us to watch television,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The TV app shows you what to watch next and easily discover TV shows and movies from many apps in a single place.”
Several readers have reported seeing the app appear …
Apple appears to be retiring the built-in Videos app on iOS in favor of the new TV app coming next month. The behavior is introduced with today’s iOS 10.2 beta 3; iOS 10.2 beta 2 included both apps separately. Apple could still change this behavior in a future version of iOS 10.2, although there isn’t much need for both apps for most users.
At its Mac event last week, Apple previewed a new app called ‘TV’ that’s coming in December to the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV (and apparently not the Mac). The TV app is Apple’s effort to unify the video watching experience that currently takes place across various (mostly paid) video apps.
The videos are still served up in each channel’s app, but Apple’s new TV app is home base for discovering what to watch next or resuming something you’ve already started. It’s less about providing actually new content and more about improving how you find content that you can already watch in other ways.
And unless you pay for cable, you’ll probably find the TV app to be somewhat limited when it launches. Potential Netflix integration could help, but an Apple-produced subscription TV service would unlock the full potential of the new TV app and the Apple TV…
The Financial Times is reporting that Apple considered a buyout of Time Warner late last year, with Apple executive Eddy Cue raising the idea at a meeting with Time Warner’s head of corporate strategy, Olaf Olafsson. The idea of bid was very much tentative and did not enter serious negotiations involving Tim Cook, according to the report. However, Apple is still interested in acquiring media company talent and sources indicate the company is ramping spending on original content: “several hundred million dollars a year”.
Apple has long been rumored to want to launch a skinny cable subscription service for internet television, in concert with its Apple TV set top box. At Startup Fest earlier in the week, Tim Cook said he wants Apple to be a catalyst in the entertainment business.
Apple has long been rumored to be interested in creating its own original video content for Apple TV users. Earlier this year, the company announced its first original TV show that will focus on the “app economy” and feature music artist Will.i.am. Fast Company today reports, however, that this series is only the very beginning for Apple when it comes to in-house video content.
British parents have long known that handing your kids an iPad full of children’s TV shows is a good way to keep them quiet for a while appropriately entertained and informed. The BBC has made that job even easier today by launching a special iPlayer Kids app. The iPad app, which has a user-interface suitable for young children, features only age-appropriate TV shows.
The new child-friendly app is safe and easy to use. With over 10,000 episodes being made available this year alone, it has all of BBC Children’s world-class content in one place, allowing kids to discover and enjoy both new and old CBeebies and CBBC favourites including Wolfblood, Blue Peter, The Dumping Ground, Topsy & Tim and Go Jetters.
Each child in the family creates their own profile, complete with their age and a cartoon character to represent them, and the app them automatically filters the shows offered.
Pre-school children (under five) are only shown CBeebies content, while children over five are shown both CBBC and CBeebies content (customised to be suitable for their age).
The BBC says it created the app in recognition of the fact that children’s programs are the most popular genre watched through iPlayer.
More and more mobile devices are being released every year with better and higher quality cameras, allowing nearly anyone to share the news faster than a major news corporation can even fathom. Founded in 2014 by Thiel fellow John Meyer, Fresco puts a focus on getting citizen journalism the credit it deserves. Today Fresco announced an Apple TV version of their Fresco News app, which curates the best content of the day, and delivers facts on international events in a fresh way.
According to a report out of Bloomberg, Apple is putting a hold on its plans to launch a streaming web TV service amid resistance from cable companies and networks. The report claims that Apple, while not entirely giving up on its plans, is instead shifting focus towards creating a platform on which companies can sell directly to the customer.
Apple’s fourth-generation Apple TV has been available for two weeks now and after using it using it exclusively for all my media consumption, I’ve gathered a handful of thoughts. When Apple announced the device back in September, I was perhaps more excited for it than I was the iPhone 6s. And rightfully so. Tim Cook touted the new Apple TV as the future of television, using superlatives that seemed extreme even for Apple. The device had been a long time coming, too, which further contributed to the hype in my mind that surrounded the release.
As someone who had incredibly high hopes for the fourth-gen Apple TV, what do I think of it two weeks later? Let’s discuss…
Today we’re comparing the forth generation Apple TV to the NVIDIA Shield. These are quite possibly the two best set top boxes out right now. I won’t be going into every little detail here, but instead the things that are most important for myself. But before we get in-depth with either option, let’s take a look at specifications between the two…
These days, there are so many good TV shows on that it’s difficult to pick just one or two favorites, and on-demand streaming makes it even easier to watch your favorite shows on your own schedule, so it’s no surprise that some people have a hard time keeping track of which shows they’re behind on.
For many, the solution has come in the form of apps that take all of the work out of remembering when your favorite shows air and help you track which episodes you’ve seen or missed. Sometimes, however, these apps can be as complicated as the TV schedule you’re trying to track.
Today, a new app in that category called Cold Open has launched. It was created by a team of developers and designers known in the iOS and jailbreaking communities for their work on a variety of projects, and it’s one of the simplest TV apps yet, making it ridiculously easy to keep track of your watching habits.
When the new Apple TV launched last week, one notable omission in the tvOS App Store were Top Charts like we are used to seeing on iOS devices. The obvious reason for this omission seemed to be that Apple didn’t have enough data collected to populate top charts, but now that appears to have changed…
CBS plans to bring its $5.99/month All Access subscription service, which offers a mix of on-demand TV shows and live streaming from local stations, to Apple TV and other platforms in the near future, a source with knowledge of the matter informed us.
Word that Apple TV is still in the company’s sights for the All Access service comes as it officially announces support for Google’s Android TV platform today and ahead of an official launch of Apple’s revamped Apple TV platform arriving in October.
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According to a new report out of Variety, Apple is looking to enter the TV and movie production industry in a way similar to how Netflix has recently done. The report claims that Apple has been looking to hire both actors and directors to create production divisions that would produce exclusive long-form content in-house.
Jimmy Iovine seems to be doing the rounds of UK media at present. Following yesterday’s Evening Standard interview, he’s done another with Wired editor Michael Rundle.
Much of it is, of course, the usual sales spiel: curation is cool, nobody else will catch us or do it better, lots of great people involved – the kind of things you’d expect him to say. But the interview does contain one unexpected snippet: that Apple Music‘s curated approach could be applied to TV …
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According to a new report from BuzzFeed News, Apple is currently planning to unveil its refreshed Apple TV in September. The company had originally planned to unveil the device at WWDC this summer, but scrapped it from the event at the last minute. A September unveil has seemingly been expected since the announcement was pulled from WWDC.
Earlier today, investor Carl Icahn published an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook in which he predicted that Apple would enter the television market with 55-inch and 65-inch UHD TVs. This evening, however, The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple currently has no plans to enter the highly competitive TV market.
While users in the US are today getting access to CBS Sports and USA Now on the Apple TV, Canadian users are being greeted today with two new channels from the big Canadian cable companies. Bell’s CraveTV and Rogers’ Shomi, two competitive on-demand TV services akin to Hulu in the US, are now accessible on Apple’s set-top box.
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In coordination with the Watch’s worldwide release, Apple has ramped its marketing campaign further with three new ads that are airing starting today. The ads titled ‘Rise’, ‘Up’ and ‘Us’ focus on everyday activities being enhanced by the Watch. Unlike some of Apple’s product-focused marketing, this is more in the style of iPad commercials.
The ‘Rise’ ad focuses on morning activities, such as using the Watch to wake you up or answer text messages in the breakfast queue. ‘Up’ is focused on the Workout and Activity apps, highlighting the ‘Stand’ notifications and related fitness features. ‘Us’ focuses on communication highlighting Digital Touch sketch, tap and heartbeat sharing features as well as the controversial animated emoji.
All three videos are embedded after the break …
Reports regarding an Apple web-based TV service began to circulate in February of this year, with more details emerging last month. A new report from The Street now claims that Apple and Disney are currently in talks over what specific Disney-owned channels will be available on the service. It’s worth noting that Disney CEO Bob Iger is also on Apple’s Board.
The Apple TV set-top box hardware is expected to be updated this summer after 3 years since the last real refresh and a recent price drop from $99 to $69. While the last Apple TV upgrade boosted video output from 720p to 1080p, the rumored Apple TV 4 is not believed to support ultra high definition 4K video output featured on newer TV sets. Here’s why that’s no surprise and what I think it could mean for an actual Apple TV set:
With rumors flying about an Apple television subscription service in the works for release this year, new details have started to emerge about what kinds of deals the tech company will make with its content partners. The NY Post says that these deals will involve Apple turning over certain data about its users to programmers to help solidify its agreements.
