Apple TV Universal Search Expands to Nickelodeon and Spike, TV App Now Supports Crackle and More - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple TV Universal Search Expands to Nickelodeon and Spike, TV App Now Supports Crackle and More

Apple has added Spike and Nickelodeon, including Nick Jr., to the universal search function on the fourth-generation Apple TV.

apple tv app hero
For those unfamiliar with universal search, it allows users to use Siri or input 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 universal search is available for a wide number of apps in the United States, but the feature is limited to iTunes, Netflix, and a few other services in Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Elsewhere, only movies in iTunes are supported.

Relatedly, Apple's new TV app now supports the apps Crackle, Filmstruck, and Freeform on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

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

Popular Stories

iOS 27 Feature Cool

Apple Releases New iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, and tvOS 27 Public Betas

Monday August 31, 2026 2:13 pm PDT by
Apple today released the sixth public betas of iOS 27, iPadOS 27, tvOS 27, and macOS Golden Gate, allowing anyone with a compatible device to download and test the new software. The sixth betas come a week after Apple seeded the fifth betas and a few hours after the eighth developer betas. You can get started by signing up on Apple's beta website and then opting in to the public beta by...
Apple TV Color

Apple TV Buys an Existing Hit for the First Time Ever

Friday August 28, 2026 8:52 am PDT by
Apple TV has bought the worldwide rights to "Small Prophets," breaking with how it normally operates in acquiring an existing English-language hit rather than commissioning a show of its own from the start. Apple TV has typically developed or, at the very least, commissioned shows in-house and given them their premiere on the service, regardless of where they may eventually end up. This...
Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Smart Home Display Still Coming This Year

Tuesday August 25, 2026 8:19 am PDT by
Apple remains on track to launch its first smart home device with a screen before the end of the year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman reiterated that the device will use facial recognition to determine who is standing in front of it and serve up personalized content for that individual user. The description lines up with code found in macOS Tahoe 26.7 earlier this week, which...

Top Rated Comments

122 months ago
Wake me up when it expands to Plex or any other service that contains local content.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
verniesgarden Avatar
122 months ago
Wake me up when it expands to Plex or any other service that contains local content.
won't happen, that goes against the whole concept of what the TV app is about. now something they should add is a section with all the live streams so you can do some traditional surfing
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ErikGrim Avatar
122 months ago
What TV app?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HiRez Avatar
122 months ago
Universal search has worked with Netflix from day one.. Maybe it's the new TV app you're thinking about?
Yeah, you're right, I still get those 2 confused. And I'm not really sure why they're not the same thing (or at least return the same results) -- shouldn't they be?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
122 months ago
Universal search has worked with Netflix from day one.. Maybe it's the new TV app you're thinking about?

But still no Netflix, so...

Also, where is that Amazon Prime Video app on my Apple TV?
Apple has added ('https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205321') Spike and Nickelodeon, including Nick Jr., to the universal search function on the fourth-generation Apple TV.

For those unfamiliar with universal search, it allows users to use Siri or input 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 universal search is available for a wide number of apps in the United States, but the feature is limited to iTunes, Netflix, and a few other services in Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Elsewhere, only movies in iTunes are supported.

Relatedly, Apple's new TV app now supports ('https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207254') the apps Crackle, Filmstruck, and Freeform on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

Article Link: Apple TV Universal Search Expands to Nickelodeon and Spike, TV App Now Supports Crackle and More ('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/05/01/apple-tv-search-adds-nickelodeon-spike/')
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HiRez Avatar
122 months ago
But still no Netflix, so...

Also, where is that Amazon Prime Video app on my Apple TV?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)