Roger Fingas
People wanting to use a native Apple TV app to watch Google's YouTube TV will have to wait until the first quarter of next year, as the company says it will miss an original 2017 target.
Also postponed until next year is a native Roku client, according to CNET. An early version of that app has appeared on Roku devices in the past, but it can't yet be downloaded to the Roku OS homescreen.
Next quarter will additionally see support for 2014 and 2015 Samsung TVs, and Sony TVs running an older Linux-based OS instead of Android TV.
YouTube TV is Google's answer to services like Sling TV and PlayStation Vue, letting iewers watch some 40-plus channels, with an emphasis on the major broadcast networks ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. It is however missing Turner and Viacom channels like CNN and the Cartoon Network.
The Apple TV is indirectly supported via Apple AirPlay, but that requires using the iPhone and iPad app as a remote. Other streaming options include Chromecasts, Android TV, the Xbox One, and more recent LG and Samsung TVs.
YouTube TV is currently available in over 80 U.S. cities such as Austin, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and Seattle.
Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
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Andrew Orr
11 Comments
How about Google updates the YouTube app for Apple TV? It hasn't been touched since May 2016 and doesn't auto-refresh the subscriptions.
In YouTube related news it's being reported that Google has all the rights agreements in place for a subcription service, with Sony and Universal now on board with it. With YouTube music joining YouTube TV Google looks to be trying to move away from relying purely on ads in order to offer services.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-19/youtube-pacts-with-universal-sony-music-to-allow-paid-service
As it stands, I do not use the YouTube app on my 4k AppleTV, I use the version on my 4k UHD TV instead. I'd rather just be able to use my Apple TV for everything, but as it's stands, the AppleTV version is well behind the version on my TV. It's obvious to me that Google is doing this intentionally.