Apple TV's Universal Search Adds NBC in the United States
Universal search, a tvOS feature that allows Apple TV owners to perform a search that scans through the content libraries of multiple supported apps and services, is now better than ever. This is because the feature has added support for NBC in the United States, making it easier to watch NBC programming on your fourth-generation Apple TV.
This is great news for Apple TV owners – or rather, Apple TV owners living in the United States. Outside the U.S., universal search is still in its infancy, but inside Apple's home country, the feature is thriving. Using Siri, the Siri Remote's touch surface, or an easier third-party alternative, users can perform a full search that scans through all the tvOS apps which support the feature. Indeed, the feature now supports NBC and, as MacRumors explains, this means all four major U.S. networks are now available from inside universal search.
With the addition of NBC, apps for all four major U.S. networks are now included in universal search, as well as iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Disney's suite of TV channels, Showtime, PBS, Starz, Nat Geo, and FX.
Great. Though outside the United States, in most other countries iTunes content only is supported by universal search. MacRumors rightly adds that Netflix content is support in a small number of regions (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom). For this reason, there's still a lot of work to be done on universal search outside of the United States.
That being said, today's news makes an excellent platform even more impressive. We love the fourth-gen Apple TV, and the more networks, services, and developers which get on board with the platform, the better. Here's hoping we see some interesting tvOS developments at Apple's forthcoming WWDC conference, which is scheduled for June.