Apple TV App Direct Subscriptions to TV Channels

Concept of Apple Services & TV Subscription Channels App

apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services.

It is considered one of the Big Four of technology along with Amazon, Google, and Facebook.

The company’s hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet computer, the Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, the Apple Watch smartwatch, the Apple TV digital media player, the Apple AirPods wireless earbuds and the HomePod smart speaker.

Apple’s software includes the macOS and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media player, the Safari web browser, and the iLife and iWork creativity and productivity suites, as well as professional applications like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Xcode.

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Apple users will be able to subscribe to HBO, Showtime, Hulu and a handful of other channels directly through Apple’s new TV app, bypassing the need to download or launch a separate app on their device.

This new capabilities was made available on Monday come ahead of Apple’s plan to offer its own original shows, including ones from Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg. Those shows will be part of an Apple TV Plus subscription  coming later this year for a subscription price that is yet to be disclosed.

Hulu and Amazon already offer premium channels as add-ons to their regular subscriptions, and both have original shows. Apple is trying to catch up on streaming video to make up for a slowdown in iPhone sales.

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Although those channels are already available as part of individual apps for iPhones, iPads or Apple TV, buying subscriptions through Apple will allow users to watch those videos directly in Apple’s app.

They’ll also be able to download videos to watch when there isn’t an internet connection, something not always available through the individual apps.

Subscriptions through the new Apple TV app and individual channel apps are treated separately.

So to get the download feature, users would need to cancel their existing HBO subscription and sign up again through Apple TV. Once they do that, they’ll no longer be able to watch through HBO’s own app.

The new Apple TV app will also incorporate shows and movies bought through Apple’s iTunes store and will introduce a new section with kid-friendly videos.