Apple Adds ABC, Bloomberg, Crackle, and KORTV Channels to Apple TV

Apple today added yet another set of channels to its Apple TV set-top box, including a "Watch ABC" channel to allow subscribers to certain cable services to watch content from their local ABC affiliate through Apple TV. Other additions include financial channel Bloomberg, streaming movie and TV show channel Crackle, and Korean channel KORTV.

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Today's launches are just a few of the many additions for Apple TV over the past few months, with the most recent previous addition having been Yahoo Screen and PBS last month. Other recent additions included Major League Soccer and Disney Junior in September, Vevo, Smithsonian, and Disney in August, and WatchESPN and HBO GO in June. Apple is also reportedly in talks to launch channels for cable provider Time Warner Cable and TV network The CW.

Update: 9to5Mac has a behind the scenes look at the development process for the Bloomberg channel.

Apple has already streamlined the process of building its current lineup of Apple TV apps— which mostly consist of streaming video content— to the point where developers can quickly and easy build apps through an easy to use SDK, much like on iOS. The team behind the development of the Bloomberg app, which consisted of two developers under Bloomberg’s head of mobile and connected devices Oke Okaro, told me that Apple’s toolkit, an SDK of sorts, has “made it quite easy to build the apps.” The team of two developers along with Okaro built the app in just five weeks. Most of that time was spent testing and optimizing the video experience.

Apple reportedly provided some input and feedback along the way in terms of optimizing the user experience, but largely allowed Bloomberg to define what it wanted to include in the channel.

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Top Rated Comments

0815 Avatar
124 months ago
It's great that they keep adding channels/apps to the Apple TV .... but now they are at the point where a major UI rewrite is required, it is getting to cluttered and the 'channels' are not integrated, but instead separate without e.g. common search interface for shows/movies/... etc
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pavelbure Avatar
124 months ago
You can. Go into the Parental Restrictions in Settings. Hide apps.
This should be stickied into every Apple TV article.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vtstarck Avatar
124 months ago
Would be great to have the ability to hide some of the channels not interested in, now that they have so many.

You can. Go into the Parental Restrictions in Settings. Hide apps.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sky Blue Avatar
124 months ago
Can we have a Plex channel please?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cpatterson1177 Avatar
124 months ago
Awesome, more channels that I can't watch because I don't subscribe to a cable or satellite service.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thogin Avatar
124 months ago
Please add Plex, that's all I need. And Amazon. Plex and Amazon, that's all I need. And the NFL.

Amazon, Plex, and the NFL. And this ashtray. The ashtray and the paddle game and that's all I need... And this remote control.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)