Apple is doing away with the redundant iTunes Movies and iTunes TV Show apps on the Apple TV starting with the tvOS 17.2 update. As noted by 9to5Mac, in the release candidate version of tvOS 17.2, opening up those apps redirects users to the Apple TV app.
The Apple TV app supports both movie and TV show purchases, making the old iTunes Movies and iTunes TV Shows apps unnecessary and also confusing to some Apple TV users.
"iTunes Movies and Your Purchases Have Moved," reads the text in the iOS 17.2 release candidate. "You can buy or rent movies and find your purchases in the Apple TV app."
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in October said that Apple planned to remove the standalone Apple TV apps available for renting and purchasing TV shows and movies, and he also said that the TV show and movie sections would be removed from the iTunes Store app on iPhones and iPads.
While Apple has indeed started the process of eliminating its iTunes TV Shows and iTunes Movies apps on Apple TV, the apps do still exist in the RC in order to provide customers with instructions on where to find their content going forward. Apple will likely remove the apps entirely in the near future.
On the iPhone and the iPad, the iTunes Store app continues to offer TV show and movie purchases right alongside the Apple TV app, but the option to purchase that content may soon be removed from the iTunes Store app.
tvOS 17.2 also includes a sidebar that houses content from both Apple's services and streaming services that integrate with the tvOS Watch Now feature. The sidebar makes it easier to access a range of content, and there are dedicated sections for Search, Watch Now, Apple TV+, Sports, Library, and the Store for purchases.
Apple is expected to release tvOS 17.2 to the public next week.
