Fresh off an injection of some handy new features and a revamped interface last week, the Apple TV got another healthy boost of new entertainment options today. Fresh additions include a new app from the Fox family, FX Now, and a healthy chunk of live and on-demand content for the device’s U.K.-faithful through additions to Sky Television’s Now TV app.
FX Now adds a host of content from 21st Century Fox’s racier networks, FX, FXX, and FXM. Previously only available for Apple users via iOS devices including the iPad and iPhone, the app will play host to a wide variety of on-demand content from Fox’s sister networks, including shows like Sons of Anarchy, Louis, and the critically-adored Fargo, as well as a wide selection of movies. Remaining notably absent: The Simpsons.
As reported by CNet, the app will not host the run of 530 Simpsons episodes recently acquired by FXX and hosted in a mammoth marathon broadcast on the fledgling network. The unexpected omission is likely due to the desire to push FXX’s new Simpsons World website and app, which could land sometime this October. As is the case with the Fox Now app, FX Now must be authenticated by a cable or satellite subscription.
Apple TV users across the pond are a little luckier. Viewers in the U.K. got a cornucopia of new content today with the addition of the stand-alone services Now TV Entertainment Pass, and Sky Movies Month Pass for Sky Television’s Now TV app.
Now TV offers both live and on-demand programming, with popular shows like The Walking Dead, Boardwalk Empire, and The Leftovers, from the Now Entertainment Pass, as well as on-demand movies from Sky Movies Month Pass, like American Hustle. The two services, which cost £5 and £10/month respectively, join the £7/month Sky Sports Day Pass to makeup what Sky calls “the most comprehensive linear pay TV service on Apple TV.”
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Unfortunately for U.S. viewers who are still caught up in authentication purgatory, none of the new Sky services are available stateside (unless, VPN). Still, as Apple’s aging third generation device has seen waning sales among a sprawling list of competitors, today’s new additions should give it some much-needed muscle to combat its rivals at home, and abroad.
