DirecTV Now Gains Apple TV App Integration [Updated] - MacRumors
Skip to Content

DirecTV Now Gains Apple TV App Integration [Updated]

AT&T today announced that its DirecTV Now service has been updated with support for Apple's TV app.

With TV app integration, DirecTV Now users can take advantage of cross-device episode and movie tracking with the Up Next feature along with tailored content recommendations available on the DirecTV Now service using the Watch Now feature on the Apple TV.

directvwatchnow

There's so much on-demand content and live sports channels included with your DIRECTV NOW subscription, so the Apple TV app is a great place to help you find something new or jump back into your favorite on-demand show as new episodes arrive or quickly tune to a national sports broadcast.

The integration also means that Siri voice searches can be used to find TV shows and movies on DirecTV Now, which is useful for finding specific content. ‌Siri‌ searches work with the entire DirecTV on-demand library.

directvnowappletv2
‌Siri‌ also supports live tune-in with DirecTV Now so you can access specific live channels with a command like "‌Siri‌, tune in to [your favorite channel]" to open up the DirecTV Now app and turn on the channel.

directvnowappletv3
The final feature included in the integration is single sign-on, which allows DirecTV customers to sign in once with their username and login to access available content across any supported third-party app.

‌Apple TV‌ users with a DirecTV Now subscription will see a prompt to integrate their data with the TV app after playing a DVR show for the first time. AT&T says that the updates enabling TV app support will be pushed out to DirecTV customers automatically.

Update: DirecTV's live tune-in feature designed to let you watch live TV channels through ‌Siri‌ voice commands isn't actually implemented just yet and will be coming at a later date. The other features mentioned in the article are, however, live and available to DirecTV Now subscribers.

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

Popular Stories

General visionOS watchOS and tvOS Betas Feature Redux

Apple Releases Fifth watchOS 26.6, tvOS 26.6 and visionOS 26.6 Betas

Monday July 13, 2026 10:27 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with the fifth betas of upcoming watchOS 26.6, tvOS 26.6, and visionOS 26.6 betas for testing purposes. The software comes a week after Apple seeded the fourth betas. The software updates are available through the Settings app on each device, and because these are developer betas, a free developer account is required. There's no word on what's in the...
tvOS 27 Feature

Apple Seeds tvOS 27 Beta 4 to Developers

Monday July 20, 2026 10:01 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the fourth beta of tvOS 27 to developers for testing purposes, with the update coming two weeks after Apple released the third beta. The beta can be downloaded and installed through the Settings app on the Apple TV. A free developer account is required. tvOS 27 has few new features compared to the other 27 software updates, but it does add a redesigned Podcasts app,...
watchos 27

tvOS 27 and watchOS 27 Now Available to Public Beta Testers

Monday July 13, 2026 1:38 pm PDT by
Apple today released the first public betas of tvOS 27 and watchOS 27, giving Apple TV and Apple Watch users a chance to try the new software ahead of its fall launch. There's also a new HomePod Software 27 beta for the HomePod and HomePod mini. You can sign up for Apple's public beta testing program on the beta website, and then download the updates through the Settings app on each device. ...

Top Rated Comments

theinstructor Avatar
97 months ago
NOW if DirecTV could only fix their sorry app on the Apple TV, that may actually help founding users who are leaving for YouTubeTV, like me. It is junk and their support model is as well. They need an ITSM course in Service Delivery.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jsalda Avatar
97 months ago
Cue the DirecTV/Cable hater comments, but I gotta say, I'm kinda longing for the old days. Today's TV landscape seems to be getting even more fragmented and expensive with every studio and their nephew starting their own streaming service.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SRLMJ23 Avatar
97 months ago
Functionality isn't explained here. So play a DVR and within the DirectTV now app you will get a prompt? Or you would need to navigate to the tv app after playing a DVR
Play the DVR in DirecTV Now app and you will get a prompt to integrate your data into the TV App.

I cannot get Siri to work to open DirecTV Now and go the channel I request. Don't know if that is still rolling out but, as of now, at least for me it is not working.

:apple:
[doublepost=1552084414][/doublepost]Okay so, I figured out the Siri issue. You do not use the phrase in the article "tune in to [your favorite channel]." It does absolutely nothing.

At the home screen on the Apple TV, I say "Go live to Fox Business Channel" and it opens up DirecTV Now and goes live to Fox Business. Also, while in DirecTV Now you can ask Siri to go to channels, but it is a little hit and miss.

If you have a channel app, say ESPN, and ask Siri to go to ESPN, it will open the ESPN app, and will not go to ESPN in DirecTV Now.

Still playing around with it, so I might find some more things out.

:apple:
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrismac2 Avatar
97 months ago
Can you use Siri to tune to a specific DTN channel? And thanks for the post.
Unfortunately, that is not yet working for me. If I say "tune to CNN" for example, it asks if I want to open CNN using fuboTV, the CNN app, or PlayStation Vue.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrismac2 Avatar
97 months ago
For people who haven't gotten single sign-on to work yet. What I did was go into Settings in the DirecTVNow app and sign out of my account, then when into Settings in the Apple TV->Accounts->TV Provider and signed out there as well. Then signed in again, in the Apple TV TV Provider menu, and then all the apps, including DirecTVNow app showed me as signed out. When I clicked DirecTVNow in the available apps, it AUTOMATICALLY logged me into the app. I exited out of the app, went back into Apple TV Settings and Accounts/TV Provider and clicked on one of the apps, Food Network, clicked on Live TV, and it automatically activated the app using DirecTVNow. Single sign on is now working for me.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
97 months ago
"The final feature included in the integration is single sign-on" FINALLY! DirecTV Now was never listed so it was unable to do this previously, just regular Direct TV. Glad to see they finally added it.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)