Apple TV Adds Four New Channels

Apple TV has added four new channels, with the compact set-top box gaining more ways to watch movies in addition to broadening cable TV access from ABC. The four fresh additions include "Watch ABC", which hooks into local ABC affiliate content for those with a valid subscription, Crackle, for streaming movies and TV shows, Bloomberg, for financial news, and KORTV, for Korean-language content.

While Apple has previously referred to Apple TV as a "hobby", its push for the living room has taken on a greater urgency over the past year. Recent updates to the set-top box have added a number of new channels, including PBS and Yahoo Screen content back in November.

Meanwhile, earlier updates brought Vevo, Weather Channel, Smithsonian, and Disney content to the Apple TV in August. HBO GO and WatchESPN had been loaded two months before.

It's not only third-party streaming content that the box has gained, however. Apple also added iTunes Radio playback, along with AirPlay from the Cloud streaming.

What Apple TV still lacks is broad third-party app support, with the App Store still a long-standing hold out. The company's longer-term ambitions for the platform are still unclear, despite ongoing rumors – perhaps more wishful thinking than anything else – of a full Apple television set.

Perhaps more likely is an update to the Apple TV box itself, adding Siri for easier navigation and the ability to combine live and on-demand media, similar to how Microsoft's Xbox One acts as a middle-man for TV content.

VIA MacRumors