At last week’s keynote, Apple announced their highly anticipated Amazon Prime Video Channels competitor called Apple TV Channels coming via a software update this May. Users can access 25+ premium partners including: HBO, Showtime, & Starz.
As part of the announcements, it appeared that the updated TV App could also be used as a “Universal Cable Box” allowing you to watch live and on-demand content directly in the app through partnerships with services like DIRECTV NOW, ESPN+, PlayStation Vue, and Spectrum.
Now, according to our sources, it appears that actually won’t be the case. While services you subscribe to using Apple TV Channels will allow for streaming inside the TV App, those that you don’t, will still require you to install and stream from the service’s third-party app.
Those currently using the tvOS 12.3 Public Beta confirmed that there was no change from previous version of the TV App. We’ve also confirmed that this isn’t just something yet to be implemented, but isn’t expected to be available at launch (or in the near future).
According to Chris Welch, Editor of The Verge, on Twitter, Apple quietly updated the marketing page for the new TV app from “Easily watch all your favorite shows…all inside the app” to “Easily discover all your favorite shows…all inside the app.”