Redesigned YouTube App for Apple TV

Google recently unveiled a redesigned YouTube app for AppleTV along with a variety of new features while Apple too added four more channels including one from the popular mixed martial art league UFC to its line-up.

It is prominently a brand new YouTube app bringing the client updated with some of the various other platforms which reflects the design of other set-top box clients where the access would be easy to subscriptions as well as search functions. The YouTube app utilises the OAuth to login for security purpose instead of naïve password entry.

 However, the YouTube update would also mean that users of Apple TV would start to see ads for the first time on the platform and some of the users would be disappointed with this addition and it is impossible to opt out of the update.

The channels rolled are, for Conde Nast’s `The Scene’, `Fusion’, Dailymotion and UFC for premium subscription fighting and martial arts content. The Scene – from TheScene.com gather video content from Conde’s magazine and third party sites such as The Verge while Dailymotion seems to be more like a free-for-all video upload site a la YouTube.

No Subscription Essential to View Apple TV

None of these channels however, need a subscription to view on Apple TV. UFC has a pay-per-view or an annual `Fight Pass’, for a yearly subscription of $99 for mixed martial arts fans. Fusion on the other hand provides video programming for young and diverse audience with `unique mix of news, pop culture as well as satire’ and the network is a joint venture between Univision and ABCwhich is a digital news network with their focus at the millennial audience.

Dailymotion brings about most of the content from the web properties which include content from gaming network IGN to the Apple TV. The four channels and the YouTube are rolling out presently and would be appearing automatically on an Apple TV.

Apple will be highlighting the changes for the first time with a `New’ banner in the interface. Apple TV had added the new channels last in October with the addition of FYI and Feeln, which is A Beats Music app that had been added in September.

Refreshed User Interface 

Besides a refreshed user interface, the latest YouTube app also have additional functionality long missing from Apple TV incarnation and users can now subscribe to channel directly from the set-top box such as the app’s search function which uses a find-as-you-type configuration for quick searches.

With the YouTube update, Apple has now added this new content from UFC, The Scene, Fusion and Dailymotion bringing about their personalized recommendation to the latest version enabling users to browse through new content depending on their viewing history.

UFC which has been rumoured to be headed to the set-top streamer for some time now will enable viewers to access plenty of content inclusive of Pay-per-views as well as video from UFC Fight Pass. Meanwhile, The Scene brings about curated short form video content from brands which include ABC News, Epicurious, Forbes and GQ.