Apple on Thursday added ABC News to the roster of apps supported by Live Tune-In, a feature of the fourth-generation Apple TV.
Through Siri, the technology lets viewers jump straight into live feeds in apps that have them. Support has been slow in coming though, so far including only CBS, CBS News, CNN Go, the Cooking Channel, the Disney Channel, Disney Jr., Disney XD, DIY, ESPN, the Food Network, FXNOW, HGTV, and the Travel Channel.
It's also available only in the U.S., despite the Apple TV being sold in many more regions, and live feeds typically require an authenticated cable/satellite subscription.
Where it does work, viewers can use commands like "watch ABC News live" to switch channels from anywhere in tvOS. This provides a quicker cable-like experience, whereas people would normally have to find the ABC News app, open it, and select the live content.
Live Tune-In was introduced in an update earlier this year.