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Podcasts
Podcasts have been around for over a decade, and continue to grow in popularity. Some podcasts, such as Serial, are even more popular than most cable TV shows. Podcasts are an excellent way to get news. Apple TV 4 features a built-in Podcasts app. Users can subscribe to both audio and video podcasts. NPR’s hourly, five-minute audio news broadcast is released as a podcast every hour. It’s one of the best ways to get a quick overview of recent news. BBC, FOX News, MSNBC, CBS, CNN, ABC, PBS and many other networks offer at least one program as a podcast. Simply go to the Top Charts and filter for News & Politics to browse news podcasts.
The stock Podcasts app for Apple TV 4 is mediocre. It actually regresses from the older Apple TV Podcasts “channel”, as it no longer provides the ability to filter audio and video podcasts. If you bought an Apple TV, you may prefer video podcasts. Finding video podcasts is a chore with the built-in Podcasts app. It’s just one of many mediocre apps from Apple. They make great devices and excellent operating systems, but most of their stock apps are mediocre at best. The App Store offers a few alternatives, however, most are poorly rated. They’re not free either. If you’re really into podcasts, I recommend using a quality podcast app on your iOS device or computer. You can use AirPlay to beam it to your Apple TV.
Use AirPlay to Beam News onto Apple TV 4
AirPlay is Apple’s technology for wirelessly beaming content across devices. It can be used to transmit audio and video from an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Mac to an Apple TV. Third-party AirPlay software, such as AirParrot, provides the same features to older Macs, Windows PCs and Chromebooks. There’s even third-party AirPlay support for Android. Keep in mind, older, slower computers or devices might not have enough power to support AirPlay.
Not every content provider has created a tvOS app. Furthermore, some broadcasters limit the functionality of their tvOS apps. For example, FOX News doesn’t provide their live broadcast on Apple TV 4. They do offer a live broadcast on their website. A lot of local affiliates simply don’t have the resources to develop a tvOS app. They may have a website that offers live or on-demand broadcasts of local news. If you can play these videos on your computer, you can beam them onto Apple TV using AirPlay.
The video app U-Stream offers a lot of local news broadcasts. I sometimes use it to watch KRON’s local news programs. Using the U-Stream iOS app, I can beam content onto my Apple TV. Your local affiliate may also offer an iOS app with news videos. You can probably beam these onto Apple TV using AirPlay.
It’s important to realize that Apple TV can go beyond the tvOS apps available in the App Store. If you can’t find it on the tvOS App Store, try looking in the iOS App Store or on the web. You’ll be amazed at how much more content is available to your Apple TV with AirPlay.