DirecTV said that the Apple TV app, and by extension, the Apple TV Plus subscription streaming service, are now supported by the proprietary DirecTV Stream Android TV-based set-top. 

Users of the Apple TV and Apple TV 4K connected TV devices, as well as iOS mobile phones and tablets, have been able to use the DirecTV Stream app to watch their virtual pay TV subscription on their Apple gadgets for some time. 

But this is the first time DirecTV Stream users can use the Apple TV app on the CPE leased to them by DirecTV. 

This latest arrangement seems to signal a stepped up level of collaboration between Apple and DirecTV.

Last month, the pair announced that Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass and Friday Night Baseball packages will be available in thousands of restaurants, bars and other establishments via DirecTV for Business. ■

MotorTrend Group said that its automotive programming is now available via the Apple TV app.

Subscribers will be able to watch series and specials including a new season of Top Gear America. Other content from MotorTrend, part of Warner Bros. Discovery, including Kevin Hart’s Muscle Car Crew, Motor Mythbusters and Bitchin’ Rides.

Users of the Apple TV apps will be able to sign up for a seven-day free trial to MotorTrend, which costs $4.99 a month. Through Family Sharing, six relatives can share a MotorTrend subscription, each using their own Apple ID and password.

“The availability of MotorTrend in the Apple TV app is the latest step in our distribution goal of making MotorTrend’s premium streaming video content catalog available to fans on all major platforms. We’re thrilled to now deliver the world’s best automotive entertainment, including the newest episodes of Top Gear America, to customers directly through the Apple TV app,” said Mark Jocson, VP, Digital Partnerships and Distribution.

MotorTrend is already available on smart TVs from Samsung, LG and Sony, and connected devices including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox. ■

Charter Communications’s Spectrum Networks said it launched a Spectrum News connected TV app for Roku and Apple TV streaming devices.

The app gives viewers access to programming from Spectrum’s 30-plus local TV news networks, including live streams of the networks’ linear channels, plus original content created exclusively for the app.

The app is free to authenticated Spectrum cable customers and to others during a 30-day trial period. 

Also: Roku and Charter End 9-Month Spectrum TV Blackout

“While the way viewers consume local news continues to evolve, the essential role local news plays in  the communities we serve has not wavered,” Mike Bair, executive VP of Spectrum Networks, said. “At a time when Americans rank television as the most important source for local news, our unique style of community-based, local journalism is even more essential than ever. That’s why we continue to find ways to make our local news more readily available and accessible to our audience on  whichever platform they prefer, including streaming TV devices.”  

In the last few years, Spectrum Networks has launched linear TV news networks in seven states and three digital-only local news operations.

Operating in 12 states, Spectrum News averages more than 2.6 million viewing households per month. ■

Global streaming media device shipments are expected to fall 1.2% in 2022 to 80 million units, due to inflationary pressures, but a recovery is expected in 2023, according to Kagan, a media research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Shipments of streaming media devices (SMDs) surged in the early days of the pandemic, which in turn affected volumes that would have otherwise emerged in late 2021 and 2022, Kagan said.

Supply-chain issues, including chip shortages and complications in logistics, have
made it difficult for vendors to overhaul their product lines or reduce prices, Kagan said, which has stunted expansion campaigns in emerging markets. 

"The primary challenge to a steeper growth curve for SMDs is the persistent evolution in smart TV interfaces and processing power," S&P Global Market Intelligence research analyst Neil Barbour said in a press release. "As smart TVs become more capable streamers, there is less demand for external hardware solutions. SMD vendors appear to recognize the threat and have actively sought partnerships to deploy their operating systems on smart TVs."

Kagan expects the market to return to growth in 2023, as market forces swing back in favor of low-margin hardware production. The researcher predicts a 4.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for SMD shipments from 2021 through 2026, enough to push the market close to 100 million units in 2026.

Kagan expects the SMD installed base to rise to 313.5 million globally by the end of 2026, from 232.6 million in 2021.

Kagan’s estimates do not include smart TVs, smart speakers, game consoles or other devices with ancillary video streaming functions. ▪️

Jumping further into the TV sports market, Apple said it reached a 10-year deal to stream Major League Soccer matches.

All MLS matches will be available on a new subscription service that will be exclusively available via the Apple TV app. 

Subscribers will be able to watch MLS games — plus some MLS Next matches —without local broadcast blackouts or subscribing to a pay TV bundle. Sports are seen as a major reason why people continue to subscribe to cable and satellite amid a wave of cord-cutting.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but published reports pegged its value at $2.5 billion.

“For the first time in the history of sports, fans will be able to access everything from a major professional sports league in one place,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior VP of services. “It’s a dream come true for MLS fans, soccer fans, and anyone who loves sports. No fragmentation, no frustration — just the flexibility to sign up for one convenient service that gives you everything MLS, anywhere and anytime you want to watch. We can’t wait to make it easy for even more people to fall in love with MLS and root for their favorite club.”

The live and on-demand MLS content on the Apple TV app will be available across devices including iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV 4K, and Apple TV HD; Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Sony, TCL, Vizio, and other smart TVs; Amazon Fire TV and Roku devices; PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles; Chromecast with Google TV; and Comcast Xfinity. Fans can also watch on tv.apple.com.

“Apple is the perfect partner to further accelerate the growth of MLS and deepen the connection between our clubs and their fans,” said Don Garber, MLS’s commissioner. “Given Apple’s ability to create a best-in-class user experience and to reach fans everywhere, it’ll be incredibly easy to enjoy MLS matches anywhere, whether you’re a super fan or casual viewer.”

Apple has dived into sports with a Friday night Major League Baseball doubleheader package on Apple TV Plus. 

The company is also reportedly in the bidding for the National Football League’s NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market service.  ■

Users of the Apple TV app on Google TV and Android TV no longer have the ability to rent and buy movies, as well as subscribe to streaming service Apple TV Plus, directly in the app. 

When an Apple TV user on Google TV or Android TV tries to rent or buy a premium movie, or subscribe to Apple TV Plus, they're now presented with a button that says, "How to Watch." Click on that, and users receive a message instructing them to make their purchase on their iPhone, iPad or other devices. Users can then access their purchase within the library of their Apple TV app on Google's platform, or sign onto Apple TV Plus if a subscription has been established outside the app. 

The limitation appears to be platform-wide across both Google TV and Android TV. It showed up on our Chromecast with Google TV dongle here at Next TV headquarters Monday. But the Apple TV app running on Google TV for TCL and Sony smart TVs is reportedly now functioning the same way. Users of Android TV-powered Nvidia Shield devices began griping about the accessibility issue last week. 

Sure, it's  just a niche usability issue with a work-around -- users can make the purchase on other devices and still use them in Apple TV for Google CTV platforms -- but the broader context is the continued friction between the tech giants, especially over the issue of revenue sharing on in-app purchases. 

Neither Apple or Google has responded to requests for comments from the myriad tech publications that either discovered, or confirmed, this dynamic over the weekend (we can't tell who first broke this). However, as The Verge suggests, it's likely that "Apple no longer wants to give Google a cut of those individual in-app purchases."

A typical revenue share for an in-app purchase is around 30%.

Notably, Apple has never allowed Apple TV users on Amazon devices including Amazon Fire TV to conduct transactions without leaving the app. 

Also notable: Apple TV app users on Roku, Samsung, LG, Xbox and PlayStation devices can make in-app transactions.

Continuing to expand beyond the confines of Apple’s own hardware, the Apple TV app is now supported across the expansive Android TV device ecosystem.

The news arrived Tuesday, after Nvidia blogged that the Apple TV app will now run on its full line of Nvidia Shield OTT devices, which use Google’s Android TV OS. 

In December, Google enabled support for Apple TV on its Google TV OS—which is a souped up version of Android TV that is only deployed on Google’s new Chromecast, and a few other devices, at the moment. 

Android TV includes the distribution heft of the Google Play Store, as well as the user convenience of Google Assistant voice. In addition to running on consumer-grade OTT devices like the Nvidia Shield, as well as many smart TVs, Android TV is also deployed by many pay TV operators around the world via its Operator Tier iteration. 

Although, Google says that Apple TV compatibility does not extend to these operator tier set-tops. 

Google is currently investing in the technology, aiming to take global connected TV gateway market share aware from Roku, Amazon and Samsung.

As for Apple, proliferation of Apple TV is essential to the health of the app’s primary tenant, subscription streaming service Apple TV Plus. 

Xumo TV, owned by Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit, said it has launched on Apple TV, giving the ad-supported streaming service distribution on all of the major connected TV platforms.

At the same time, Xumo said it is releasing a series of movie titles from Magnolia Pictures exclusively as part of its Summer Movie Season AVOD package.

Titles include In the Fade, Tomato Red and Please Stand By.

Also Read: Xumo Adds Game Show Channels With Game Show Network and Sony

“According to Comscore’s most recent State of OTT report, more than 30% of Americans stream video via internet connected televisions,” said Chris Hall, senior VP, product at Xumo. “As streaming audiences grow, Xumo’s 200-plus diverse, free and popular channels are more widely accessible than ever, across all of the devices that people use the most. With this level of distribution, we are continuing to deliver in-demand content to tens of millions.”

Also Read: The New Apple TV 4K Reviews Are In -- Rejiggered Siri Remote Is 'Best We've Ever Tested'

Xumo offers more than 200 digital channels of free programming including sports, news, kids and family, live events, comedy, lifestyle and movies. In addition its available via FireTV, Roku, connected TVs, mobile devices and gaming consoles. 

Google announced that its new connected TV device dongle, Chromecast with Google TV, will start supporting the Apple TV app starting “early next year.”

Google also said that Apple TV support would expand to the Android TV platform devices “in the future.” It’s unclear as to whether Apple TV compatibility will eventually extend to Android-powered mobile devices. 

Notably, Apple TV app content will be integrated into Google TV, the UX with personalization features that sits atop Android TV, surfacing algorithmically selected shows and movies from the services the viewer uses. 

“With Google TV, you’ll be able to see Apple originals in your personalized recommendations and search results, making it even easier to find your favorite shows and movies. And, you’ll be able to save them to your watchlist to catch up on later,” said Jonathan Zepp, head of media and entertainment for Android and Google Play, in a statement. 

The Apple TV app houses Apple’s 13-month-old subscription streaming service, Apple TV Plus, as well as Apple TV Channels, the subscription re-selling service that disaggregates services like CBS All Access and Showtime. The app also provides access to sales and rentals of movies and shows through the iTunes store. 

The fact that Google would integrate the latter service, which has transactional components that directly compete with the Google Play Store, speaks to the “thaw” that’s occurred of late between the two FAANG companies. 

But it might speak more to Google’s newfound will to compete for the global connected TV device market, currently controlled by Roku and Amazon. 

As these incumbents increasingly find their neutrality challenged by interest in ad sales and “channels” disaggregation of third-party apps, they’re increasingly involved in “carriage disputes” with streaming service providers. The HBO Max app is notably still unavailable on Roku, for example, and Amazon Fire TV still doesn’t support NBCUniversal’s Peacock. 

Roku, meanwhile, just disabled the ability of its users to download cable operator Charter Communications' Spectrum TV app.

Also read: Google TV Can Now Aggregate From Over 25 Third-Party Apps

Google, however, seems intent on keeping friction low for Android TV, which supports every major streaming app at this point. 

And it's going beyond mere support with Google TV. Google, for example, has already announced 25 direct integrations of third-party streaming apps into Google TV, the latest being Peacock. 

This allows Chromecast with Google TV users to see one interface that includes content from every service they use when they fire up their TV. 

Microsoft today announced that its major video game console upgrade, the Xbox X and S Series, will have support for the Apple TV app when it debuts Nov. 10.

It’s the first time Apple’s streaming app, which houses the Apple TV Plus SVOD service, is available on the Xbox console. (The Apple TV app is also now supported by Microsoft's legacy Xbox One console.)

“The Apple TV app gives you access to thousands of shows and movies from one convenient location, allowing you to enjoy Apple TV Plus, Apple TV channels, brand-new and popular movies, and personalized entertainment recommendations,” wrote Will Tuttle, editor-in-chief of the Microsoft company blog Xbox Wire on Monday. 

Also read: Microsoft to Debut Next-Gen Xbox Consoles Nov. 10

The news follows a report Monday from Next TV sibling publication Broadcasting & Cable that Comcast-owned transactional service Vudu will also be supported by Xbox Series X/S.

Other streaming apps that have been supported by Xbox One that will also be available on the console upgrade at launch include Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Spotify, YouTube and YouTube TV, Amazon Prime Video and Twitter, Hulu, and Comcast/NBCUniversal’s Peacock and FandangoNow. Sky’s Sky Go, Now TV and Sky Ticket are also supported. 

Microsoft is bowing its first major console upgrade since 2014, with it launched Xbox One. The new iteration will be available in two flavors: 

Priced at $499, the Xbox Series X is a full-featured gaming console, including high-level gaming computer hardware (an eight-core AMD Zen 2 processor and an RDNA 2-class graphics processor), advanced cooling technology and a 4K Blu-ray player.

The $299 Series S, meanwhile, offers a more compact, affordable solution for more casual gamers without features such as the Blu-ray player. 

Sony Electronics announced Wednesday that the Apple TV app is now featured on its X900H sold in the U.S. via a software update.

The Apple TV houses the $4.99 Apple TV Plus subscription VOD platform, as well as Apple TV Channels, which lets users sign up for third-party SVOD services including CBS All Access, Showtime and Starz in the Apple TV app. 

The Apple TV app also includes a transactional component that lets users purchase and rent more than 100,000 movies and TV series episodes. 

Sony X900H users can watch these Apple TV titles in 4K HDR and with Dolby Atmos.

Select Sony TVs also support AirPlay 2 and HomeKit2. With AirPlay 2, customers can play videos and other content from their iPhone, iPad or Mac directly to their smart TV. HomeKit allows customers to securely control Sony's smart TVs using the Home app or by asking Siri on their Apple devices.

Sony has been powering its X900H prodduct line in the U.S. with the Android TV 9 operating system. The Apple TV app will be downloaded separately. It's unclear as to whether Apple TV will eventually be made available via Google Play.   

Apple first opened its Apple TV app beyond Apple hardware to third-party devices in January 2019, in a deal that brought the app to Samsung smart TVs. Apple TV has since migrated to other leading smart TV brands (LG and Vizio), as well as the top connected TV device ecosystems, Roku and Amazon Fire TV. 

Sony only controls about 3% of the U.S. smart TV market, according to research company Statista. Samsung, TCL, Vizio and LG collectively control about 71% of the U.S. market. 

"We take great pride in the superb picture and sound quality of our innovative TVs," noted Mike Fasulo, president and COO of Sony Electronics North America. "Now with the Apple TV app, we are making great entertainment even more enjoyable, and easier for customers to access."

Former Hulu and Quibi dealmaker Tim Connolly has joined Apple, as the technology company tries to integrate more third-party streaming services into its Apple TV app ecosystem.

The news was first reported by the Telegraph, which said it looked up Connolly’s LinkedIn profile and noticed he’s working for Apple’s “video business.” 

Connolly doesn’t go into specifics on his role. But he was charged with forming partnerships at Hulu, which he departed in 2018 amid a reorg. He had a similar role at Quibi, which he left in the summer of 2019 under similar reorganizational circumstances. 

Also read: Apple TV Officially Launches CBS All Access/Showtime Bundle

Apple is looking to grow usage of Apple TV app as its main attraction, 10-month-old SVOD service Apple TV Plus, looks for traction. The flagship streaming service is based almost entirely on original shows, which have been tough to make amid the pandemic-hindered production environment. 

Last month, Apple announced a bundling deal that made ViacomCBS services CBS All Access and Showtime available in the “more channels” section of the Apple TV app. Those who bundled the $9.99 services, along with the $4.99 Apple TV Plus service, could get 52% off the signup price. 

Vizio, the third biggest seller of smart TVs in the U.S., said it is now supporting the Apple TV app on SmartCast-powered sets sold in the U.S. and Canada and made after 2016.

The Irvine, California-based electronics company also is giving away three months of free Apple TV Plus service to SmartCast users who don’t already subscribe to the SVOD service.

"With the Apple TV app coming to Vizio SmartCast TVs, customers can enjoy an even broader range of exciting entertainment, including the popular and award-winning Apple TV Plus service," said Mike O'Donnell, chief revenue officer of Vizio, in a statement. "Knowing the important role the TV has in the home, Vizio continues to expand the entertainment available for consumers to discover. Vizio SmartCast is also the perfect destination for content providers as the platform where millions of customers can access all of their favorite apps, channels and programming from their TV.”

The Apple TV app is already supported by Roku and Samsung’s Tizen. Chinese manufacturer TCL, the market leader for smart TVs in the U.S. alongside Tizen, uses Roku to power most of the sets it sells in North America. 

According to Informa statistics from June 2019, Vizio controlled 13.7% of the North American smart TV market at the time. 

HBO Max currently ranks No. 1 in the Apple TV App Store, according to research company App Annie.

Does that mean the AT&T and WarnerMedia’s new streaming service is off to a boffo launch? Real tough to say.

Given the complicated engineering of HBO Max distribution, it’s difficult to get a clear early picture of the AT&T/WarnerMedia platform’s early performance. The typical comparison model—the November 12 mega-successful launch of Disney Plus—is hardly applicable. 

While the Walt Disney Company rocked the media technology world by revealing that its brand new direct-to-consumer streaming service signed up 10 million paid users on its first day in the North American market, it’s unlikely that WarnerMedia will be able to tout a similarly clean, simple tour-de-force benchmark. 

For Disney Plus, every new app download could be tied to a new customer, there was no overplayed legacy “Disney Now” service to cloud the benchmarks. And Disney Plus distribution was primarily direct to consumer, occurring in widely visible OTT and mobile platforms, not defused into proprietary pay TV systems. 

Also read: AT&T’s HBO Max Dilemma: Why Complicated Distribution Dynamics Mean a Bad Deal for Some Current Customers

Last week, Sensor Tower reported 87,000 first-day downloads for the HBO Max on mobile platforms iOS and Android. That benchmark trailed even the 300,000-plus first-day app downloads registered by Quibi, which has been universally seen as slow out of the gate. 

But since HBO Max is overlaying the legacy HBO Now service, the Sensor Tower mobile app figure is somewhat misleading—it doesn’t include Max updates to WarnerMedia’s legacy app, HBO Now, which has been infiltrated onto millions of smart phones since launching back in 2015, and was averaging around 16,000 app downloads per day before the launch of Max. Another way to look at it: the launch of HBO Max spiked daily WarnerMedia OTT app installs by 71,000 downloads. 

In the connected TV realm, HBO Max measurement is even more shrouded.

Start with the fact that WarnerMedia has not been able to strike agreements to include HBO Max in the top two OTT device ecosystems, Roku and Amazon Fire TV. 

The high ranking on Apple TV—one of the bigger OTT device ecosystems—does indicate high living room demand for the $14.99-a-month WarnerMedia subscription video service. 

But a much of HBO Max’s distribution is tied to linear pay TV services, with a WarnerMedia spokesperson telling Yahoo Finance, “HBO subscribers of our distribution partners—Comcast, Charter, Cox, Altice, Verizon, and others all had immediate access to HBO Max on the day of launch.” 

Indeed, with the HBO Max natively integrated into the proprietary video systems of these operators that don’t use off-the-shelf OTT devices, such as Altice One, it’s hard to get a clear picture as to how many pay TV users are accessing the service in these early days. 

“This is a unique platform in many ways, including the way it is distributed,” said recently appointed WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, in a statement. 

Bursting out of the gates with more than 54 million subscribers globally, Disney Plus has completely blocked out the sun for Apple’s own entry to the streaming wars, Apple TV Plus, at least early on. 

Apple TV Plus Watched by Only 7% of U.S. Streaming Homes: Report

But while Disney Plus stood out as a lone beckon amid Disney’s devastated first-quarter balance sheet, which saw an overall 91% decline in profits,  Apple TV Plus was, inversely, only a small functional piece of broader success story for Apple, which saw its services revenue increase to a record $13.3 billion for the January - March period.

With sales of iPhones, Macbook Pros and other hardware gadgets in decline, the success of services was the reason Apple was able to eek out narrow 1% revenue growth in its fiscal second quarter. 

Since Apple TV Plus launched November 1, most of the buzz has been about, well, the fact that there’s been so little buzz. Apple TV Plus has no library and not enough original shows to succeed, pundits have contended. A recent HarrisX poll found that only around 7% of streaming homes were watching the service, mostly on an aggressive Apple promotion that provides it free for a year.  And its star packed original shows, including The Morning Show, have fallen surprisingly flat with TV critics. (Although the recent debut of filmmaker Spike Jonze’s Beastie Boys Story has delivered the $4.99-a-month streaming service its first hit.)

Also read: Apple TV Plus Has Pandemic’s Biggest Audience Demand Spike Among SVOD Services, Research Group Says

Reporting earnings April 30, Apple really didn’t get into its new video streaming service that specifically. While the so-called “streaming wars” topic is big news in the media business, and Apple reportedly spent $6 billion on original shows to be part of it, star-studded Apple TV Plus really does seem to be a mere character actor in Apple’s broader app-based services business, which also includes other recently launched apps, Apple Arcade, Apple News Plus and Apple Card.

Apple is aiming for its services business to finish 2020 with twice as much revenue as it generated in 2016. And the Apple TV app, for which Apple TV Plus is merely a component, is a key driver to that effort.

Notably, Apple isn’t really fighting the streaming wars so much as controlling the chessboard. For example, both AT&T/WarnerMedia and Comcast/NBCUniversal have recently put out announcement suggesting their respective new streaming services, HBO Max and Peacock, will be available on iPhones, iPads and Apple TV devices when they debut. 

To get there, they have to pay the house—that is, the Apple TV app. Apple TV+ gets to live there rent-free. But every other streaming competitor has to pay the going rate of around 30% of revenue, give or take, to get distribution in this piece of technology real estate no streaming service can afford to live without. 

“Our third-party subscription business grew across multiple categories and increased over 30% year-over-year, reaching a new all-time high,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told investors 

NBCUniversal said its new Peacock streaming service will be available on Apple devices when it launches nationally on July 15.

Peacock is currently available to Comcast subscribers.

Also read: Comcast's Peacock Has a Lot to Offer, Even Launching Short of Feathers (Review)

Apple device users will be able to subscribe to a free tier of Peacock. They’ll also be able to buy Peacock Premium for $4.99 a month and an ad-free version for an additional  $5 a month.

“Our priority is to bring Peacock’s unrivaled collection of content to people across major distributors and device platforms,” said Matt Bond, Chairman, Content Distribution, NBCUniversal. “We look forward to bringing Peacock to Apple customers when we launch around the U.S. in July, capitalizing on Apple’s incredible reach and connecting with millions of viewers across their devices.”

Apple users will be able to find Peacock content in the Watch Now section of the Apple TV app and use Siri to search for shows on Peacock.

“Across NBCUniversal, millions of fans are consuming our content on Apple devices every day and we are thrilled to be introducing Peacock to those audiences,” said Maggie McLean Suniewick, President, Business Development and Partnerships, Peacock. “Apple will be a key launch platform for Peacock.” 

British-themed streaming service Acorn TV has expanded its distribution outlets to include The Roku Channel, The Apple TV app and Android TV, according to service officials.

Acorn TV is now available for purchase directly through Premium Subscriptions on The Roku Channel, as well as through the Apple TV app and on Android TV Smart TV’s and digital media players, according to the service.

In addition, Acorn is available on Amazon Prime Video Channels for Canada, adding to the service’s distribution on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S.

“Acorn TV is now available in more ways than ever before so customers can watch its addictive international mysteries and dramas on whatever device or platform they prefer,” said Mike Pears, President of U.S. Distribution for RLJ Entertainment and Acorn TV in a statement. “With millions of drama and mystery fans worldwide, we’re thrilled to work with these key distribution partners to continue to evolve the service and expands its distribution in North America as well as worldwide.”

Start-up virtual pay TV service fuboTV announced today that its service has been integrated into the Apple TV app.

FuboTV has supported apps for Apple’s iPhone and iPad mobile devices, as well as the Apple TV OTT box, since it launched. However, it is now recognized by the search, discovery and organizational tool that is native to these Apple devices, the Apple TV app.

It’s only the second virtual MVPD to be tied in this way, with Sony PlayStation Vue announcing Apple TV integration in October.

For fuboTV subscribers using the Apple TV app, VOD and live sports content from their vMVPD subscription will now surface in the “Watch Now” and “Up Next” sections—menus that distill the Golden Age of Television’s vast array of content choices into a small, customized handfuls of selections. Siri voice control will allow users to search for content with words and phrases.

Integration with Apple TV’s single sign-on authentication feature, meanwhile, is forthcoming.

According to Min Kim, VP of business development for fuboTV, the integration will “allow Apple users to discover that their favorite leagues and matchups are on fuboTV and with the ‘Up Next’ feature, they'll never miss what's on. fuboTV subscribers can also find over 10,000 on-demand shows and movies directly in the app."

Sony’s PlayStation Vue streaming service has become the first virtual pay TV platform to become available through the Apple TV app, the native application for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV devices.

The Vue app has been available for Apple's iOS and tvOS devices for some time. But this still matters to owners of those devices, since they don’t have to toggle between separate apps to find their programming. Users still need to download the Vue app to their device and log into their account. However, once they do, the Apple TV app will pull all of the live and on-demand programming they get through Vue and place it into relevant Apple TV buckets.

Related: Sony Adds 200 Locals to PlayStation Vue, Stays in vMVPD Fight

For example, on-demand content will all be placed into the “Watch Now” section of the Apple TV app, while shows a viewer has already started will be available in the “Up Next” bucket.

The Apple TV app has supported TV Everywhere apps from individual programmers like CBS and AMC for some time. But to import the content into the Apple TV app, users had to download each TVE app they wanted and authenticate their multi-channel subscription.

Notably, once users select content pulled from Vue, the Apple TV app will direct the user back to the Vue app. That’s how the Apple TV app works for content from other devices, as well.

Vue is an outlier among vMVPDs, with others hesitant to give up control of the user experience. But Vue could certainly use a good user experience edge in a competitive market.

Vue launched more than three years ago, but according to Strategy Analytics estimates released over the summer, only has around 745,000 subscribers.