Am I watching it wrong?

[t0pher]

I've got an AppleTV and AppleTV+, Netflix, Prime, Disney Plus.

i use the AppleTV and see a bunch of stuff that is from all 4 streaming services which is great but when i navigate to most things i think i'd like to watch i'm presented with a price.

Is there a way to just have AppleTV show me stuff that is inclusive as part of my varied subscriptions?

i've effectively stopped using the AppleTV as i find it infuriating and i'm not willing to spend on something else when i have so many subscriptions already.

I'd be happier if AppleTV+ just showed me whats available inclusive of our AppleTV+ subscription with a separate section of things i could pay extra for.

 

[Isamilis]

Go to "tv+" tab on the top of app screen.

 

[joevt]

Doesn't AppleTV+ show all the sources that have the item you want to watch and the price for each? If the item is on one of the subscriptions it knows about, then it should show as being free.

 

[t0pher]

I just restarted my AppleTV and now see the ATV+ heading in the menu at the top of the screen of the appletv app.

it wasn't there previously.

 

[mallbritton]

Is there a way to just have AppleTV show me stuff that is inclusive as part of my varied subscriptions?

Unfortunately, no. The Apple TV app is an aggregator. It pulls in content from various sources and shows you things it thinks you might like to watch based on your watch history.

I'd be happier if AppleTV+ just showed me whats available inclusive of our AppleTV+ subscription with a separate section of things i could pay extra for.

Keep in mind that your subscription to Apple TV+, a streaming Channel, is not an all inclusive subscription to everything you can access in the Apple TV APP. There are now two ways to access just TV+ content: scroll down just a little bit in the TV app and select the TV+ Channel. Or select the TV+ Tab in the upper row. There you will see only TV+ content.

 

[pmiles]

If you use SIRI to search for content, and you only want to search what's on YouTube or Netflix and the like, make sure you click on the search field (i.e. the stuff that you use to manually select characters when using the remote to type in the search field for example). Otherwise it will pull from everything Apple TV has access to paid and unpaid services alike.

The more apps you install, the more things it will potentially search globally. Ideally you will want to keep the apps installed that you actually watch/subscribe to uninstall those that you don't use very often. This will limit Apple's search to what you have installed and skip say Netflix if you don't have a Netflix subscription at the time.

 

[t0pher]

the expectation of ATV+ was more along the lines of the Netflix experience where i'd open the app and see inclusive content. I could always see iTunes paid for content before, seeing it blended into a new app wasn't appreciated.
The excitement of subscribing to and opening a new Apple TV service wore off within minutes when all the exciting things where asking for payment. It felt more of a scam than a service.

The reality is there was very little inclusive content & they blended with iTunes and others to make AppleTV+ look better than it was. I would not have bothered to pay for ATV+, is anyone actually paying for it?

I'd rather they where honest & let it stand on its own feet.

 

[contacos]

look for the "AppleTV+ Channel" this way you only see AppleTV+ content. I agree that the overview is very cluttered, overwhelming and annoying

 

[-Gonzo-]

The reality is there was very little inclusive content & they blended with iTunes and others to make AppleTV+ look better than it was. I would not have bothered to pay for ATV+, is anyone actually paying for it?

I'd rather they where honest & let it stand on its own feet.

That’s just your own misinterpretation of ATV+, ATV+ is just a channel within the ATV app but you’re definitely not alone in thinking you’d get access to everything.
Since the most recent update there shouldn’t be anymore confusion now ATV+ has its own tab that’s at the top of the page rather than half way down the page as it was before.
You say there’s very little inclusive content but the question is have you actually watched any of it yet?
From what I’ve seen so far from the three shows we’ve watched they’ve all been fantastic and more than worth a sub.
By the time I get round to watching some of the others then more shows will be added.
Yes I’m paying for it as part of an Apple One subscription, I was already paying for an Apple Music family sub and 200gb storage so when Apple One came along it seemed a no brainer to have ATV+ & Apple Arcade for a couple of quid extra.

 

[pmiles]

The sad reality is it is the only app that is placed in it's own container... all the others can reside on the main page and be launched without ever stepping foot into the Apple container where all the paid content resides. The Apple icon on the main page should say Apple Store... because that is what you are entering. AppleTV+ should reside outside of it like all the other apps.

But hey, they are all about getting you to buy stuff... this is and always has been the biggest money maker for them. Devices are chump change to them.

 

[t0pher]

That’s just your own misinterpretation of ATV+

I didn’t misinterpret anything. What I observed was that opening the apple tv app on my appletv and choosing content I was interested in watching showed me a price to watch it despite having an appletv+ subscription. I don’t get that behaviour on Netflix and until recently never saw that on disney+.

Apple UI is all about making things easy to use yet they deliberately obfuscated paid content alongside free content with the only way of knowing content required additional payment was to get to the point of playing it.

Amazon prime puts the price of something by its icon making it obvious additional payment was required. I’d rather they have a better filter so I could only show inclusive content on prime too.

I’d actually be happy to pay for content so long as I don’t feel like I’m being scammed into paying for content after I’ve subscribed to a service that includes content.

As you mention, plenty of others had similar issues and felt the same way and Apple are now trying to make amends by including an atv+ icon with the latest update.

I’ve had atv+ since it’s start due to an iPad purchase. We now have Apple one due to iCloud, music @ arcade subscriptions making it sensible.

 

[-Gonzo-]

I didn’t misinterpret anything. What I observed was that opening the apple tv app on my appletv and choosing content I was interested in watching showed me a price to watch it despite having an appletv+ subscription. I don’t get that behaviour on Netflix and until recently never saw that on disney+.

Well you kinda did as ATV+ was always advertised as being a channel within the ATV app and not the app being ATV+.
If you’d of scrolled down to channels you’d of seen ATV+ under the channels section.

 

[pmiles]

AppleTV+ is not launched on this page. Netflix, Hulu, and basically everything else is (found below the top row typically on this page). Clicking on the black AppleTV icon puts you in the store where there is a section called channels that allows you to actually launch the AppleTV+ app. This is why you think you are getting spammed with stuff to buy or rent... because you are... you aren't in the AppleTV+ app yet.

This is what it wrong with AppleTV+... it's not treated like all the other streaming apps you install... as such, leads to all this confusion.

 

[t0pher]

Well you kinda did as ATV+ was always advertised as being a channel within the ATV app and not the app being ATV+.
If you’d of scrolled down to channels you’d of seen ATV+ under the channels section.

View attachment 1698257

When was atv+ ever advertised as a channel within the atv app?

Have you a link to your claim?

 

[-Gonzo-]

When was atv+ ever advertised as a channel within the atv app?

Have you a link to your claim?

It’s been in black & white on Apple.com since launch.

Apple TV+

Apple TV+ features critically acclaimed Apple Original shows and movies. Watch on the Apple TV app across devices.

www.apple.com

And also then you’ve got the March 2019 event when they launched the new ATV app, explained how it worked, explained about the extra channels within and then went on to talk about the launch of the new ATV+ service that will be available within the ATV app.

 

[mallbritton]

Apple TV+

Apple TV+ features critically acclaimed Apple Original shows and movies. Watch on the Apple TV app across devices.

www.apple.com

 

[macrem]

I somehow also had a false hope that the TV app would somehow aggregate what‘s available to me as part of my subs from tv+, Netflix, Prime without aggressively trying to rent/sell content that’s not included in subs. I did not subscribe so that I could pay more every time I want to watch something.

in its current form, I’m not enticed to pay for tv+ (nor One). I’ll just get for a year when upgrading a device.

does anyone know of another app that would aggregate content from subs while not being too aggressive with in app purchases? I’d rather pay for an app than get constant advertising

 

[mallbritton]

The TV app IS an aggregator app. It looks at your watch history and recommends things you might like based on that, and on what others with similar taste are watching. Most subscription apps (excluding Netflix), and most TV anywhere apps (depending on your live TV provider) also support the TV app, so as long as you have those apps installed on your Apple TV you will be able to jump right into those apps from the TV app. Many items in the "What to Watch" section that is right under the "Up Next" queue will have a logo on them for the service or app they are available in. For example, I see Soul in my TV app and it has a Disney+ logo. So I know I can watch it without paying extra.

Apple TV+ is a Channel. Just like CBS All Accsss, Stars, AMC+, etc. are Channels. A sub to the channel is not an all inclusive subscription to all content available through the TV app. I don't understand why this is so hard to figure out.

 

[Plett]

Well they at least gave it a tab with the latest release but still two clicks deep. I agree a landing app would be more consistent with the premium streaming apps already in place. But they want to get you into an app that can sell more content.

 

[UBS28]

The UI is simply terrible. I was running into the same issue as the OP in the beginning.

 

[jimkingwood]

I somehow also had a false hope that the TV app would somehow aggregate what‘s available to me as part of my subs from tv+, Netflix, Prime without aggressively trying to rent/sell content that’s not included in subs. I did not subscribe so that I could pay more every time I want to watch something.

in its current form, I’m not enticed to pay for tv+ (nor One). I’ll just get for a year when upgrading a device.

does anyone know of another app that would aggregate content from subs while not being too aggressive with in app purchases? I’d rather pay for an app than get constant advertising

Roku. It is literally 100 times preferable to Apple TV. And Apple TV can reside within Roku if you want that. I use Apple TV within Roku to watch The Office and occasionally previously-purchased iTunes content, though I am not really a re-watcher.