The Apple TV app has reached its final frontier: your cable provider's set-top box. According to Variety, Comcast used its latest earnings call to reveal that the Apple TV app will be available on Comcast's platforms in the "coming months." Viewers with Xfinity X1 set-tops, Flex streaming hubs, XClass TVs and (in the UK and Europe) Sky Glass sets will have access to Apple TV+, in-app channels (like AMC+ and Showtime) and Apple's usual video purchases and rentals.
In exchange, Comcast is bringing its Xfinity Stream app to Apple TV hardware. The move will let you use the Apple TV device either as a set-top stand in or to watch broadcasts on someone else's TV when you're away.
This may be a more significant expansion than it seems. Apple's streaming video app is available on many smart TVs, dedicated media players and game consoles in addition to the company's own products, but there are many people whose cable box is the smartest device in the living room. This brings Apple TV+ to many people who wouldn't even consider a service if it required a new TV or any device beyond the ones included with their cable subscriptions.