In the upcoming weeks, Google TV devices, the Android TV app, and the mobile application for Google TV are ending support for television show purchases. A decision that impacts all platforms and devices that use Google TV services. Following this shift, customers will no longer be able to buy new TV shows through these platforms, though existing content will stay accessible.
Customers globally will feel the effects, regardless of the device they use to access Google TV services. Detailed guidelines for retained access to previously purchased content will soon be provided by Google. Meanwhile, Google recommends exploring alternative platforms for TV show purchases. This supports Google’s plan to streamline and focus more on its primary services.
Despite discontinuing TV show buys, Google will keep supporting movie purchases. This strategy aims to enhance YouTube’s buying features, depending on availability per country, and to improve user experience in YouTube’s mobile and Android apps. Google’s focus centers on an improved in-app experience and a smooth process for those purchasing films on the platform. This doesn’t mean TV shows are left in the dust, however, the purchase function is gone but movie purchases remain.
Previously purchased TV show content will continue to be accessible to users.
Ending TV show purchases on Google TV
Regardless of where the original purchase was made, even active rentals and TV series will retain accessibility. After these changes are implemented, TV shows bought via YouTube will be exclusively viewable on the YouTube app, concluding the current integration of Google TV and YouTube buys.
As changes come, Google’s commitment to the Google TV brand is unyielding. The company will rebrand “Chromecast” as “Google TV,” its main streaming device. The Android Google TV app will also adopt this rebranding, which initially did not support iOS purchases.
Over the past year, Google’s been slowly retiring the Play Movies & TV app, replacing it with Google TV services. Despite this shift, all previously purchased content via the Play Movies & TV app will remain accessible on Google TV. The integration of media content under one service aims to greatly simplify user experience, but it’s yet unknown whether users will accept this change as a positive improvement.
An unexpected move, the decision to curtail the Android Google TV app’s purchasing function was surprising given its range of services. It suggests a significant development in Google’s fast-paced media reform. The removal may inconvenience some but it’s presumably a part of a major goal to streamline the buying experience. Users should remain adaptable during this shift, as Google continues to reshape its platform to offer the most value.