Apple releases Apple TV ad showcasing on-demand content and apps

Apple on Tuesday released a new commercial highlighting the fourth-generation Apple TV, tvOS and the dedicated tvOS App Store, with special attention paid to third-party on-demand offerings.

Titled "The Future of Television," Apple's latest Apple TV spot is a minute's worth of references and clips from popular movies, TV shows, games and other media. While Apple's tvOS appears briefly, today's ad is all about content.

As with past installments, today's ad features the Apple's take on the familiar SMPTE color bars done up in colors borrowed from the company's old rainbow logo.

Apple keeps the color bars onscreen for most of commercial's duration, changing and animating it in different ways to the beat of a lilting tune. When a particular television show or feature film shows up, Apple provides text at the bottom of the screen directing users to specific standalone apps, including iTunes, Netflix and HBO Now.

Featured shows include movies like "The Martian," TV shows like "The Muppets" and episodic dramas from Netflix. Games like Disney Infinity 3.0 and Guitar Hero get some airtime as well.

As for Apple's app assortment, Siri makes an appearance to complete a search for the best science fiction movies, a query immediately refined to "only the new ones." The tvOS app switcher also pops in for a cameo, as does the main tvOS home screen and Apple Music.

Apple has made clear its intentions to position tvOS and the supporting App Store as a platform not only for software developers, but media companies looking to break away from cable and broadcast monopolies. A report earlier today said Apple has suspended work on a long-rumored over-the-top Internet streaming service, however, suggesting tvOS might ultimately fill that niche.