Netflix Content Accidentally in TV App
Netflix appears to have softened its stance on Apple TV integration, with some users in the US now reporting seeing prompts to connect their Netflix accounts directly to Apple’s TV app.
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The integration currently seems restricted to Netflix Original content rather than the service’s full catalog of licensed shows and movies. When users select content to watch, they are still directed to the Netflix app for playback.
That’s confusing that it doesn’t apply to the whole catalog.
Just yesterday on our Six Colors podcast, I suggested it was high time for Apple and Netflix to make a deal to get Netflix content in the Apple TV app. And it seems maybe, at long last, after years of no movement, finally such a deal is happening?
To me, this may be the “finally” to end all “finallys”[…]
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It’s now 2025, and I’ve been writing about the problem I like to call: “Where the Fuck Can I Stream This?” for years now. And it has arguably never been worse.
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Assuming Netflix is playing ball with Apple here, there are other questions. For example, will they allow Apple to recommend Netflix content for you based on your viewing habits? Maybe if Apple also agrees to share that data with Netflix? But it’s Apple, will they actually do that? Maybe if a user explicitly agrees? The pop-up users are reporting seeing only says that Netflix will share viewing content with Apple, not the other way around…
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First an Apple TV Android app and now this – what’s next, an actual Apple television set?
As it turns out, Netflix content showing up in new places in the Apple TV interface was a bug, and Netflix is not introducing expanded Apple TV functionality. In a statement to The Verge, a Netflix spokesperson confirmed that temporary support for the Continue Watching feature was an error, and it has been rolled back.
Netflix is one of the only major streaming services that has refused to offer integration with the Apple TV app, preferring instead for customers to manage watch lists and browse for content directly in the Netflix app.
Previously:
Update (2025-02-16): John Gruber (Mastodon):
I see why Netflix is sticking to its guns on this one, but they’re on the wrong side. Apple TV users were overjoyed yesterday when the Netflix app briefly started integrating with the TV app for “what next”, etc. Steven Aquino described it as “jubilance”.
Netflix deeply regrets accidentally making Netflix a better product for its customers.
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They may very well turn it on later, like, let’s say if Apple is actually shipped a tvOS update that completely displaces the old home screen, and reduces visibility of their app at all. However such a move is just as likely to hurt the commercial appeal of the Apple TV for customers that find Netflix’s mediocrity essential. This “error” may never see the light of day again, or it could be flipped back on any minute now.
11 Comments RSS · Twitter · Mastodon
This is the world we now live in. Features are removed on purpose. Things we don't want constantly pop up in our faces
And now, we've reached the point where companies giving users what they want is actually a bug. One which the corporation shamelessly patches as quickly as possible.
As Nick Heer says, "Netflix sincerely apologizes for giving users what they want."
My torrents play wherever I want them to, at the highest quality available, with the most user-friendly player. Truly a great time to be watching TV.
My guess is on Plex.
Anyways, Netflix original content showing up infront of a bunch of people looking for something to watch at the same time as Netflix is running a massive ad campaign for their original content...
What a coincidence.
(Or maybe the massive campaign is only on Sweden?)
Infuse.
Plex used to be good, but then moved to React Native and made the app terrible. Infuse is fantastic. I do use Plex Media Server on my NAS, but Infuse also support Emby.
Everyone complaining about Netflix being anti-consumer seems to have forgotten how this game works. Apple isn’t some neutral aggregator—they’re a direct competitor. Handing over content to the TV app would be like handing the fox the keys to the henhouse. We’ve seen this movie before: Apple uses ‘partnerships’ to get data, control the experience, and eventually sideline its so-called ‘partners.’ Just ask Spotify or Epic how that turned out. Netflix isn’t being difficult; they’re being smart. Why should they become just another cog in Apple’s ecosystem, feeding engagement into a machine designed to promote Apple’s own content and services? The App Store was lesson enough. Netflix doesn’t owe Apple a shortcut to their success.
@Matthew We just care about our viewing experience more than we care about a company, be it Netflix or Apple. If, on that occasion, our interests with Apple are aligned, we want it.
You're not wrong, and the real point here seems to be that the user experience is not the priority for either Netflix nor Apple.
If Apple cared about my viewing experience, Up Next would be its own easy to access tab that isn't riddled with ads. Like it used to be. Now they've designed it such that it is literally impossible to see your viewing queue without seeing an ad for TV+.
If Netflix cared about the viewing experience, they would show up in that tab.
I'm still using Plex, and while they've had more than a few regressive changes over the years, I think their main app is still usable. That said, it is non-native web app and so has the standard array of OS-convention-breaking UI issues, on top of some daft design like over use of hover zones.
I just tried out Infuse and I can see the appeal. If Plex's app ever gets too annoying for me to want to use (and they are rolling out a new UI, and in general that usually means it goes worse not better) it's nice to know there's other options.
Also, I don't know how anyone tolerates watching TV shows or movies using anything other than Plex, Emby, or Jellyfin. When using their apps (or Infuse and other third party apps like it) you get the only UI for watching media that's not actively user hostile. It just lets you browse your media library like any competent media browser, without the ads, shitty UI, or dark patterns. If I didn't have that option I'd just stop watching TV altogether.
