Apple TV gets cozy with Amazon Prime, so where does that leave Netflix?

From Tech Hive: Apple CEO Tim Cook spent less than two minutes talking about Apple TV during the company’s WWDC keynote this week, but that was enough time for two revelations: First, Apple’s TV guide app now pulls in movies and shows from more than 50 streaming video sources. Second, Amazon Prime will become one of those sources when Amazon launches an Apple TV app later this year.

Apple’s TV app, which arrived last fall, is supposed to solve streaming video’s “what to watch” problem. Instead of making people bounce between apps, it provides a central hub where users can catch up on their favorite shows and get recommendations on more things to watch. The TV app worked with 37 content sources at launch, and the list has grown by about 15 apps since.

All of which makes the absence of Netflix ever more conspicuous. Although Netflix offers an Apple TV app, it doesn’t support Apple’s TV app. (I wish Apple’s app had a more distinct name, like Guide or Watchlist, but that’s another story.) Without the most popular subscription streaming service, Apple’s ambitious plan for a unified TV guide doesn’t feel complete.

Netflix is notoriously protective of how and where its content shows up outside of its own app.

In general, the company has embraced the concept of system-wide search, allowing Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV to index the Netflix catalog and list search results alongside other apps. System-wide browsing is a different story.

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