New Apple TV app launching Thursday to give users personalized TV show recommendations

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For years, Apple’s been courting content owners to support its ambitions to provide its users a package of TV programming and live broadcasts, to no avail.

But Apple’s living room strategy is said to have shifted recently from building an inexpensive skinny bundle of TV programming to developing a simple interface for browsing digital programming guides.

First signs of this new direction should become visible at Thursday’s “Hello again” Mac event: USA Today claims that Apple will unveil a new app for giving owners of the fourth-generation Apple TV personalized recommendations for television shows.

According to the people with knowledge of the project who could not be named because of the confidential nature of the negotiations, the app will provide contextual recommendations based on a user’s existing viewing habits and content subscriptions.

Described to network executives as “the Watch List,” the app will recommend shows based on the content viewers access through their Apple TVs. For example, a subscriber to FX Networks might be encouraged to check out the new dramatic series Atlanta.

For content owners, the app will serve as a central hub to promote new shows.

The Apple TV’s Single Sign-On feature, which is yet to launch, will remember a user’s login information to automatically unlock all the channels they pay for.

Distilling recommendations into a single app builds on the improvements in search and discovery that Apple introduced last year, said the article.

“The Watch List” is just a code-name: the app will be marketed under a different name when it’s available to consumers.

An Apple spokesperson declined comment.

Source: USA Today