(Credit: Photo Illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)
UPDATE: It was indeed too good to be true. Netflix confirms to The Verge that the integration was a glitch that has since been fixed.
Original Story:
Netflix has long declined to let subscribers link their accounts to the Apple TV app, but has the stalemate finally ended? Users are seeing a Netflix integration option on their Apple TV 4K boxes.
The Apple TV app is home to its own Apple TV+ streaming service, but you can also link third-party streaming services to make the Apple TV app a one-stop shop for streaming. You can currently tap to connect Max, Peacock, Hulu, and others, for example.
For almost a decade, Netflix has not been on that list, meaning people can't search for Netflix shows, add them to their Watchlist, or have them appear in the Continue Watching section of Apple’s TV app. That quietly changed this week. FlatpanelsHD reports that it got a "prompt on Apple TV 4K to integrate Netflix into the Apple TV app. After accepting, Netflix content appeared in the Continue Watching queue and Watchlist within the Apple TV app."
However, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that this may be a bug as neither he nor fellow reporter Lucas Shaw are aware of any deals. "It would be odd for Netflix to finally give in here," Gurman posted on X.
Apple’s support page does not list Netflix as a compatible app, and Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. I have not yet received a prompt to connect my Netflix app through the Apple TV. Searching "Netflix" on the Apple TV brings up popular Netflix originals, but tapping on them redirects you to the Netflix app.
If this integration does happen, it's tough to tell what it will and won’t support. For example, I don't currently see any search results for Stranger Things on the Mac version of the Apple TV app, but I did on an iPhone.
In declining to integrate with Apple TV, Netflix may be betting that it's influential enough not to need the extra exposure. It also probably doesn't want to share viewing data with Apple.
However, Netflix is expanding more into live sports, like NFL games and the upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup, so it might see an integration of its original content as more necessary now. There are also reports that Sonos’ upcoming video streaming box would include true universal search across video services, so this may be Netflix testing the waters.
These reports come as Apple opened up its own Apple TV+ app to Android phones this week.
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