Apple Eliminating iTunes Movies and TV Show Apps in tvOS 17.2

Apple is doing away with the redundant iTunes Movies and iTunes TV Show apps on the Apple TV starting with the tvOS 17.2 update. As noted by 9to5Mac, in the release candidate version of tvOS 17.2, opening up those apps redirects users to the ‌Apple TV‌ app.

apple tv itunes purchases
The ‌Apple TV‌ app supports both movie and TV show purchases, making the old iTunes Movies and iTunes TV Shows apps unnecessary and also confusing to some ‌Apple TV‌ users.

"iTunes Movies and Your Purchases Have Moved," reads the text in the iOS 17.2 release candidate. "You can buy or rent movies and find your purchases in the ‌Apple TV‌ app."

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in October said that Apple planned to remove the standalone ‌Apple TV‌ apps available for renting and purchasing TV shows and movies, and he also said that the TV show and movie sections would be removed from the iTunes Store app on iPhones and iPads.

While Apple has indeed started the process of eliminating its iTunes TV Shows and iTunes Movies apps on ‌Apple TV‌, the apps do still exist in the RC in order to provide customers with instructions on where to find their content going forward. Apple will likely remove the apps entirely in the near future.

On the iPhone and the iPad, the iTunes Store app continues to offer TV show and movie purchases right alongside the ‌Apple TV‌ app, but the option to purchase that content may soon be removed from the iTunes Store app.

tvOS 17.2 also includes a sidebar that houses content from both Apple's services and streaming services that integrate with the tvOS Watch Now feature. The sidebar makes it easier to access a range of content, and there are dedicated sections for Search, Watch Now, Apple TV+, Sports, Library, and the Store for purchases.

Apple is expected to release tvOS 17.2 to the public next week.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Neutral)

Top Rated Comments

CC77 Avatar
1 day ago at 12:21 pm
The Apple TV app is very strange, as is the naming in general -- I have a TV, and I can buy an Apple TV (product) to plug into it, running Apple TV (app), with the option to subscribe to Apple TV+ (also app). Surely not confusing at all!
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
k1121j Avatar
1 day ago at 12:20 pm
Is it just me or is it harder to find stuff in the TV app? That’s the only reason I use the other ones when it won’t show up in the TV app.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
entropys Avatar
1 day ago at 12:12 pm
Yes sidebar is helpful. Mixing up included and rental/purchase content when browsing, a la Prime, is very user unfriendly.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
1 day ago at 12:20 pm
With all the crap that is being loaded into it, the Apple TV app is turning into the new iTunes.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
verdi1987 Avatar
1 day ago at 12:39 pm
Complete Series purchases are not available in the TV app, only iTunes. They need to fix that.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
decypher44 Avatar
1 day ago at 12:08 pm
I’m sure I’ll appreciate the sidebar, but the current navigation in AppleTV+ is unintuitive and a PITA. At least for my household, anyway.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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