Watch Now in the Apple TV app
The Watch Now screen in the Apple TV app is the place to start watching movies, TV shows, news, and live sports (not available in all countries or regions). Find what you want to watch, add it to your Up Next list, then start watching.
Browse content
Open the Apple TV app on Apple TV.
In the menu bar, swipe to Watch Now.
Swipe down to view recommended content—TV shows, movies, news, and sports, including collections hand-picked by experts as well as dedicated categories based on your viewing history.
Sports events in progress display the live score (to manage sports notifications, see Adjust Apple TV app settings).
Swipe to a category row (Hit Movies, for instance), then swipe right to see available content in that category.
Select an item in a category row to see its rating description, available viewing options, and purchase or rental information.
Play a movie, TV show, news program, or sports event
Find what you want to watch in the Apple TV app , then select it.
Do any of the following:
Play the item or open it in a channel or app: Select Play or Open In. If you haven’t subscribed to the channel or app, follow the onscreen instructions.
Subscribe to Apple TV+: Select “Try Apple TV+ Free” or Subscribe, then follow the onscreen instructions to confirm your subscription.
Subscribe to an Apple TV channel: Click “Try [channel] Free” and follow the onscreen instructions.
Buy or rent a movie: Select Buy or Rent, then select the option you want and confirm your purchase or rental. For details, see Pick a movie to watch.
Buy a TV show episode or season: Select Buy, then select the option you want and confirm your purchase. For details, see Pick a TV show to watch.
Watch a sports event: Select Live Now. For details, see Browse and watch live sports.
During playback, press the button to return to the app that hosts the content you’re watching. If you’re watching a movie or TV show, you’ll see a menu to play from the beginning or access info and extras.
Press the Home button when playing an item to return to the Watch Now screen in the Apple TV app.
Turn on picture-in-picture viewing
You can play movies or TV shows from the Apple TV app in a small viewer that runs in the foreground while you browse other content in the Apple TV app.
Note: Picture-in-picture viewing is available only while using the Apple TV app.
In the Apple TV app, choose a movie or TV show to begin playing.
During playback, rest your finger on the Touch surface of the Siri Remote to show the playback timeline, then swipe up and select the picture-in-picture button that appears.
On the Siri Remote, press the Home button to see more options, then do any of the following:
Move the viewer to any corner of the screen: Select the Move button to move the viewer to the indicated corner of your screen. Select again to move it to the next corner, and so on.
Return to viewing full screen: Select the Full-screen button .
Stop playback and close the viewer: Select the Close button .
On the Siri Remote, press the button to continue watching in picture-in-picture mode.
See what’s up next
The Up Next row displays content you’ve already started to watch or plan to watch.
In the Watch Now screen of the Apple TV app , navigate to the Up Next row, then swipe left or right to see shows you’ve recently watched or added to Up Next.
Shows and movies appear in the order you’re most likely to want to watch them. For example, when a TV episode is finished, the next episode automatically appears in Up Next. And if you’ve already caught up on a show, whenever a new episode becomes available, it immediately shows up in the beginning of the Up Next row.
If your favorite sports team is playing on an app you’re signed in to, such as ESPN, the live game in progress appears in Up Next. Alerts appear onscreen if the game is close so that you can quickly switch to the action. To manage sports notifications, see Adjust Apple TV app settings.
If you have an iPad or iPhone and are signed in with the same account you use for Apple TV, your viewing progress and episode selection stay in sync in the Apple TV app on those devices. For example, you can start watching a show on your Apple TV and finish watching it on iPad, or vice versa.
Add a movie, TV show, or sports event to Up Next
On the Watch Now screen in the Apple TV app , select an item to see its rating, description, available viewing options, and purchase or rental information.
Select Add to Up Next.
A notification appears indicating the item is added.
Remove an item from Up Next
Do either of the following:
Select In Up Next. (If you don’t see the In Up Next button, first select the item in the Up Next row.)
Highlight the item in the Up Next row, press and hold the Touch surface of the Siri Remote, then select Remove from Up Next.
Start watching from Up Next
In the Apple TV app , highlight an item in the Up Next row, then press the Touch surface of the Siri Remote to start playing it.
When you ask Siri to play a TV show, Apple TV automatically starts the next episode you haven’t seen, whether it’s the middle of season 1, or last night’s episode.