The updated YouTube app for Apple TV has a new design, personalized recommendations and much more content. The updated design makes YouTube for Apple TV consistent with its app on the Roku, Xbox and PlayStation. YouTube now lets you subscribe to your favorite channels through the Apple TV app. It also has predictive search so that you can find videos quicker on the Apple TV. Another addition to YouTube for Apple TV is advertisements, which play before letting you watch certain videos.
The New Apple TV Channels
As I mentioned earlier, Apple TV received several new channels. The new channels include:
The Scene
The Scene is a “digital video storytelling network” created by Condé Nast Entertainment. The Scene features content from Condé Nast brands like Allure, Ars Technica, Details, Glamour, The New Yorker, GQ, Wired and Vogue. The Scene also distributes video content from media partners, including FORBES, BuzzFeed, Variety, PBS,
Fusion
Fusion is a satire and pop culture digital network that launched in October 2013. Fusion is currently distributed through
Dailymotion
Dailymotion is a France-based video-sharing website that competes against YouTube.
UFC.TV
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fans will be happy to hear that there is now an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) app for the Apple TV. UFC is selling monthly “Fight Pass” subscriptions for $10. The 6-month subscription costs $54.99 and an annual pass costs $99.99.
If you have automatic software updates set up, then you should have the new channels on your Apple TV now. Otherwise, you can apply the software update by going to Settings > Software Updates > and Update Software. There may be some restrictions within the new channels depending on your country.
The Streaming Media Race
According to Park Associates, the Google Chromecast surpassed the Apple TV in the streaming media market this year. Park Associates surveyed 10,000 U.S. broadband homes and determined that the Roku is the top choice with 29% of sales to date as of this year. The Google Chromecast — which launched in the middle of 2013 — hit second place this year at 20%. The Apple TV followed at 17% of sales.
The price of the streaming media devices likely drove the growth of the Chromecast and Roku. The retail price of the Chromecast is $35 and Amazon.com offered it for a promotional price of $28 in October with free shipping. Roku sells several streaming media players at a price range of about $39.99 to $79.99. Two months ago, Amazon.com also entered the streaming media market with the $39 Fire TV stick. As the number of devices in the market increase, it would not surprise me if Apple drops the price of the Apple TV soon.
Apple TV Is No Longer Just A “Hobby”
In 2010, Steve Jobs and Tim Cook described the Apple TV as a “hobby.” Two years later, Apple started selling about 1 million Apple TVs per quarter.
Over the last two years, the Apple TV gained serious momentum. Some of the channels added to the Apple TV last year were Vevo, the Smithsonian Channel, HBO Go, WatchESPN, Crunchyroll, Sky News, Qello, The Weather Channel, the Disney Channel and Disney XD. As of May 2013, Apple had sold over 13 million Apple TV devices -- half of which sold in 2012 alone. That figure jumped to 20 million in April 2014. Last year, the Apple TV ended up generating over $1 billion in revenue — including hardware sales and content purchases.
“It’s a little more difficult to call it a hobby these days,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook during the annual shareholder meeting about ten months ago via Variety.com. Cook said that the Apple TV had become much larger than they thought without much marketing. Pretty darn good for a project that started out as a hobby.
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