Apple TV Channels: How prices compares to native apps like AMC+, Showtime, and Paramount+

When Apple updated its TV app in iOS 12.3, it didn’t exactly pack it with new features. The layout changed a little, but it’s not very different from what we used before.

The big change to the app was access, not features. It became available on the Mac, smart TVs, Roku, Fire TV, and even game consoles. And it’s available in a lot more countries than the old TV app ever was.

It’s also the place where you’ll find new ways to subscribe to content. Apple TV Channels let you subscribe to other streaming providers from right within the TV app. It’s just like Amazon Prime Video Channels or Roku Channel Premium Subscriptions.

Updated 06/29/21: We’ve added a few of the newer channels to our price comparison list, and removed HBO as it was removed as a TV channel for new subscribers after the launch of HBO Max.

What Apple TV Channels will cost you

Apple TV Channels are purchased from right within the TV app, and you’ll browse and play content there, too. You don’t have to install any other apps at all, or visit a website to sign up. All purchases are processed and billed through your Apple account.

Every Apple TV Channel has a one-week trial period, after which you’ll be billed monthly. There are currently no yearly subscription options, and you can cancel at any time without penalty.

Here’s a list of the current Apple TV Channels, with prices for those we know, compared to the monthly and yearly prices if you were to download the service’s app on iOS or Apple TV and subscribe.

 
TV Channel

Native App

Yearly  sub
Acorn TV$5.99$6.99$69.99A&E Crime Central$4.99N/AN/AAMC+$8.99N/AN/AArrow Video Channel$4.99N/AN/ABET+$9.99$9.99N/ABritbox$6.99$6.99$69.99BFI Player Classics$5.99N/AN/ACinemax$9.99N/AN/ACollegeHumor Dropout $5.99$47.99Comedy Central$3.99N/AN/ACuriosityStream$2.99$2.99$19.99EPIX$5.99$5.99N/AEros Now*$3.49$7.99$69.99The Great Courses Signature Collection$7.99N/AN/AHallmark Movies Now$5.99$5.99$59.99History Vault$4.99$4.99$49.99IFC Films Unlimited$5.99N/AN/ALifetime Movie Club$3.99$3.99$39.99MTV Hits$5.99N/AN/AMoonbug Kids$1.99N/AN/AMUBI$10.99$10.99$95.99Nick Hits$7.99N/AN/ANoggin$7.99$7.99$69.99Pantaya $5.99$49.99Paramount+$9.99$9.99$99.99PBS Living$2.99N/AN/AScreenPix$2.99N/AN/AShowtime$10.99$10.99N/AShudder$5.99$5.99$56.99Smithsonian Channel Plus$4.99$4.99N/AStarz$8.99$8.99$74.99Sundance$6.99$6.99$59.99Tastemade$4.99$4.99$49.99Topic$5.99$5.99$59.99Up Faith & Family$4.99$5.99$53.99Urban Movie Channel$4.99$6.99$59.99We will continue to update this table as more Apple TV Channels become available.

* The Eros Now offering on Apple TV Channels is called “Eros Now Select” and appears to offer less content than the full Eros Now service.

Channels are priced like apps, but not as flexible

For now, it appears as if the price of a monthly subscription to any Apple TV Channel in the TV app is identical to the cost of a monthly subscription in that service’s native app. One exception is Urban Movie Channel, which is currently $2 cheaper per month in the TV app. If you subscribe to UMC on the web (you can then log in to the app), the price is lower: $4.99 per month, matching the TV app Channel, or $49.99 per year.

Acorn TV is a similar situation. A subscription in the Acorn TV app is $6.99 per month, but if you sign up on the web it’s $5.99, matching the Channel price, and $59.99 per year.

This is ultimately not a very good deal. Paying for an over-the-top streaming service right within the TV app is convenient, but it’s inflexible. Remember, you’re not buying an actual HBO Now or Starz subscription, you’re buying a subscription to that Apple TV Channel. If you download the HBO Now or Starz app on another platform, or head to their websites, you will not be able to log in and watch. Buying a Channels subscription locks you into the TV app.

Apple is expanding the reach of the TV app to more devices, but you still need to use it, and only it, to watch your shows from the Channels you subscribe to.

Paramount+ is a bit of a unique case: The company allows you to verify your Apple TV Channels subscription using your Apple ID, after which Paramount+ will let you view all their content on the Paramount+ app or web site.

You’re better off with native apps, for now

Until we see more interesting pricing on Channels, you’re better off using regular apps. Nearly every service with a Channel also supports the TV app with its native app. So if you use the AMC app to subscribe to AMC+, for example, you will see AMC shows in the the Up Next section of the TV app and in your recommendations. And while you won’t stream those shows from directly within the TV app, playing an episode in the TV app will automatically pop over to the AMC app for playback.

And of course, if you subscribe from within the native app as an in-app purchase, you’ll still have all your billing handled by Apple, if that’s something you care about.

Most importantly, most of these services offer yearly subscriptions in their native apps or on their websites, saving you 20 percent or more over the monthly rate. The Apple TV Channels subscriptions are only month-to-month.

Apple could work with its Channels partners to allow you to log in with your Apple ID in order to use their services on the web, in native apps, or on other platforms. That’s possible with Paramount+, for example, but most services haven’t made that connection.