NBC and CBS sign up for Apple TV

The new Apple TV box

US broadcast networks NBC and CBS are launching app-based programming services on Apple TV.

The NBC service will allow Apple TV owners to access shows such as broadcast shows Chicago Med and Heroes Reborn unauthenticated, though much of the other content will require a pay TV subscription.

NBC has also launched its app on Xbox One games consoles, and will next aim to put it on Amazon’s Fire TV and Google Chromecast, according to Variety.

CBS’s launch will see SVoD platform CBS All Access made available to the upcoming next generation Apple TV, which Apple CEO Tim Cook this week claimed would help fix the “terrible, broken process” of finding and selecting TV shows.

CBS All Access launched in October last year, a move taken by industry watchers as a sign broadcast networks were accepting some younger demographics were unlikely to continue viewing linear TV or take traditional pay TV subscriptions.

Most of the broadcast network appear to be taking this line now, with NBC just last week revealing the launch of comedy-focused SVOD platform SeeSo.

All four major broadcast networks now have apps on Apple TV, which has also unveiled an exclusive fashion-themed network, M2M.

The next-gen Apple TV launches on Monday (October 26).