Apple TV Universal Search Gains Support for 9 New Channels Including Food Network and HGTV

Apple today added nine new channels to the universal search function on the fourth-generation Apple TV, introducing support for A&E, Cooking Channel, DIY, Food Network, FYI, HGTV, History, Lifetime, and Travel Channel.

For those unfamiliar with universal search, it's a feature that allows users to conduct Siri voice searches or text-based searches to find TV and movie content across a wide range of channels. At launch, universal search only supported a few channels, but Apple has been rapidly expanding the feature to encompass additional channels.

apple_tv_hgtv_search
Apple maintains a dedicated support document providing Apple TV owners with a full list of content that can be found via Siri using universal search. Unfortunately, universal search is an option largely limited to the United States. In most other countries, only iTunes content is currently supported, while Netflix is also supported in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Will Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday February 5, 2025 7:15 am PST by
iOS 18.3 was released last month, so the first iOS 18.4 beta should be coming soon. iOS 18.4 is expected to be a more substantial update for the iPhone, with several new features and changes related to Apple Intelligence and beyond. Apple's website suggests that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, following beta testing. Below, we outline what to expect from the update so far. Apple...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive an All-New Perk

Thursday February 6, 2025 11:21 am PST by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. iCloud+ is the official name for Apple's paid iCloud storage plans, which range from 50GB for $0.99 per month to 12TB for $59.99 per month in the United States. iCloud+ plans already come with multiple perks for free, such as Hide My Email and HomeKit Secure Video, and now there is another one...
maxresdefault

An Apple TV Refresh is Coming in 2025 - Here's What You Should Know

Wednesday February 5, 2025 10:17 am PST by
Apple hasn't refreshed the Apple TV since 2022, but rumors suggest that we're finally going to get an update in 2025. We don't have a full picture of what to expect yet, but we have some hints on what's coming. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Updated A-Series Chip The current Apple TV 4K uses the A15 Bionic chip that was in the iPhone 13 lineup, and it's time for...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb

iPhone SE 4 Launching as Soon as Next Week

Thursday February 6, 2025 3:30 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone SE could debut as soon as next week with a launch to follow later in February, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple isn't expected to hold an event for the iPhone SE 4, and will instead unveil the device through a press release. The iPhone SE 4 is expected to have an iPhone 14-style design, with Apple eliminating the thick bezels and Touch ID Home button of...
iOS 18

iOS 18.3.1 Update Coming Soon for iPhones

Thursday February 6, 2025 7:31 am PST by
Apple is internally testing iOS 18.3.1 for iPhones, according to our website's analytics logs, which have been a consistently reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update should be released within the next few weeks. iOS 18.3.1 should be a minor update that addresses software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. Apple Intelligence notification summaries for news and...
iCloud General Feature Redux

Apple Ordered by UK to Create Global iCloud Encryption Backdoor

Friday February 7, 2025 2:37 am PST by
The British government has secretly demanded that Apple give it blanket access to all encrypted user content uploaded to the cloud, reports The Washington Post. The undisclosed order is said to have been issued last month, and requires that Apple creates a back door that allows UK security officials unencumbered access to encrypted user data worldwide – an unprecedented demand not before...
disney

Disney+ Loses 700,000 Subscribers Following Price Increase

Wednesday February 5, 2025 3:34 pm PST by
Disney+ lost 700,000 subscribers worldwide in recent months, according to Disney's earnings results for the first quarter of 2025. Disney said it now has 124.6 million Disney+ subscribers, a decrease of 0.7 million compared to its subscriber numbers in the fourth quarter of 2024. The drop in subscribers comes after Disney+ prices increased in the fall. Disney+ with Ads went from $7.99 to...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

iPhone Driver's Licenses to Expand to These 7 U.S. States

Wednesday February 5, 2025 6:27 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Below, we outline which U.S. states and territories offer the feature, and additional states that have committed to rolling it out in...

Top Rated Comments

bondjw07 Avatar
113 months ago
Sure, but where is the Search API that was promised last year ('https://www.macrumors.com/2015/10/03/apple-tv-universal-search-api/')? Smaller 3rd party apps want to use search too but need the search API to develop it. I want siri search for PLEX already!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chupa Chupa Avatar
113 months ago
It's nice that Apple is adding this feature, but really... content is what it needs.

Give me an easy way to just access the channels I want without paying for dozens of channels that I don't want.
I think if Apple could do that they would. But so many channels are basically controlled by:

1. Time Warner
2. 21st Century Fox
3. Disney (with Hearst in some instances)
4. Comcast
5. Scripts Network Interactive
6. Discovery Communications

All of of these companies insist on bundling in the crap for the rights to broadcast the channels people actually want to watch. However, Disney has said it would consider letting people subscribe to ESPN a la carte. That's the most expensive property in cable TV so if that happens expect the damn to break. But my guess is that the sum of the individual channels would be more expensive than current bundling regime and going to an a la carte system will not be less expensive. Kind of like how airlines started charging for checked luggage to "lower fares."
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarlJ Avatar
113 months ago
There needs to be a workaround to skip commercial
That depends entirely on the content provider - the network who wrote the app and supplied the programming. If they don't want you to be able to skip commercials, then you can't - take this up with the network, not Apple.

(Likewise for purchasing channels à la carte - Apple would love to offer this, has tried to work out deals, but it's entirely up to the networks, and at least some of them are scared of "the bad things that iTunes did to the music industry" - when in reality iTunes gave the record companies a way to keep making lots of money, instead of having Napster/etc. bring them down entirely - sure, they want a return to the good old days, of being completely in control of all music and skiing down enormous piles of cash, but that simply isn't an option any more. iTunes didn't start the change, the fad of looting music on the Internet did, and then Steve Jobs looked at the music executives and said, "Come with me if you want to live!")

I'd be more interested in the long-rumored "Apple bundle of channels", which would make the Apple TV even that much more compelling, but I gave up waiting a while back, cut the cord, and now just use Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube (and occasionally iTunes) for my TV watching needs (also got an HDTV antenna, that gets used perhaps once a week) - pretty happy with this setup.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2010mini Avatar
113 months ago
It's nice that Apple is adding this feature, but really... content is what it needs.

Give me an easy way to just access the channels I want without paying for dozens of channels that I don't want.
Apple can't do that. Only the content owners can.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2010mini Avatar
113 months ago
Good. Keep improving this box and it will be able to replace cable boxes
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BMcCoy Avatar
113 months ago
Why is there seemingly no interest in a decent EPG on the Apple TV?
That is the hub of any TV watching in the UK... a complete EPG of all available channels integrated with one-click recording functionality.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)