Roku devices now access Apple’s TV app, iTunes and future TV+ service
Roku gets TV+
The Apple TV app is now available on Roku devices, meaning users of the popular TV streaming device can access the app and all Apple’s TV+ content when it launches November 1, 2019.
Samsung, Roku, and friends
Apple has inked a similar deal with Samsung. That company now offers Apple’s TV app (with future TV+ access) on recent Samsung televisions and it is thought this arrangement will also be made with other television manufacturers in future.
Roku users will find Apple’s TV app as a download via the Roku Channel Store and can then download it to their device to begin accessing Apple’s TV content, including movie and TV show purchases and access to previous movie purchases in iTunes.
In fact, with Amazon also prepared to offer the TV app, the only major missing platforms appear to be Windows and Android — and both seem potentially possible, as an app.
What Roku said
“With the Apple TV app coming to Roku, our customers will enjoy an even broader range of exciting entertainment, including the highly anticipated Apple TV+ service,” said Scott Rosenberg, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Platform Business, Roku.
“Roku is a valuable partner for content providers looking to reach a large and engaged audience, and we’re looking forward to bringing this new option to Roku users.”
TV+ online
When it launches, Apple’s TV+ service will be made available via a swathe of hardware devices, including: iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch, Mac, Samsung televisions, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and “other platforms”.
Televisions from LG, Sony, and VIZIO are also expected to support the TV app in future, and will let you stream directly from your Apple device using AirPlay.
You will be able to access TV+ shows online using a web browser at tv.apple.com.
In addition to the U.S., the Apple TV app is available to Roku users in the following markets: Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Some TV+ shows are already at season 2
The news comes as it emerges that Apple has already signing up for second seasons of some of the shows it hasn’t started broadcasting yet.
These include See, Dickinson, Little America and Home Before Dark, according to Collider. Apple recently launched a new media site from which to promote TV+ shows.
With Apple, Disney, Warners and NBC Universal all set to launch their own streaming services in the coming months, the space around streamed TV content is likely to become rather crowded, pushing industry talent costs higher.
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