NFL is planning to discontinue Game Revind service and replace it with a revamped Game Pass service that will be also available on Apple TV (among other platforms, like iOS, Android, Windows and XBOX ONE/360).

The Game Revind service (U.S. only) offers online streaming and on-demand NFL games. As of July 31, 2015 it will no longer be available. The same day NFL will launch an overhauled Game Pass service that will offer all 256 regular-season games on-demand (“available at the conclusion of the applicable game telecast”), live out-of-market preseason games as well as live press conferences and shows. Subscribers will also have an access to any game dating back to 2009.

It’s the first time you will be able to watch full NFL games directly on Apple TV. Currently, NFL only offers the NFL Now app for Apple TV, with on-demand game-day highlights, breaking news, analysis and video archives.

The new Game Pass service will be available in the United States, Bermuda, Antigua, the Bahamas, any U.S. territories, possessions and commonwealths (including American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands), and Mexico.

Pricing hasn’t been revealed yet.

It appears that the  international NFL Now service for Apple TV will continue to be available.

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For the past half a year, rumors had been continuously pointing towards a March, 2015 launch of the much awaited Apple TV 4. And when the Spring Forward event was announced to be held on March 9th, many of us hoped the revolutionary new Apple TV to be Tim Cook’s One more thing for this event.

Althought 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman reports that the refreshed Apple TV won’t make an appearance on the Monday’s event, the good news is that according to his sources, “Apple is finishing up work on a slimmer Apple TV set-top-box with a more capable and tactile remote control and a redesigned operating system bundled with an App Store.”

Though the launch date for Apple TV 4 is not available, Gurman expects it to be released in Q4, judging by other products in Apple’s 2015 pipeline.

The reason for this delay remains the same as before – “the content roadblocks”, as Apple is struggling to obtain rights from multiple content owners and broadcasters.

Except for the release dates, his report on the next Apple TV is consistent with what we’ve heard before. The new Apple TV will sport a new design and come packed with its own App Store.

The Apple TV 4 will have a thinner footprint and the remote will be more capable and tactile, sources say.

The next Apple TV will also have the current Beats Music channel replaced by a standalone Beats streaming service too.

The new iTunes music streaming service is based on technology acquired from Beats Music, including curated playlists, cloud-based libraries, and offerings customized to the musical tastes of individual users. The service will be priced as high as $7.99 per month, which is less expensive than current $9.99 pricing for Beats Music, Spotify, and Rdio.

Despite all these reports, if you’re feeling really optimistic about the March 9 event, you can catch it live directly on your Apple TV.

Even if the Apple TV 4 isn’t announced, there’s enough reasons for us to celebrate the Apple Watch launch as I have discussed in this post.

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So the Super Bowl Sunday is here and everyone is getting their popcorn ready. For those who haven’t been able to get a ticket into the stadium nor have a supported cable subscription, here is huge news: you will be able to live stream SuperBowl XLIX this Sunday and that too for free. It is all thanks to NBC Universal who are broadcasting the whole event for the public to promote their TV Everywhere service.

Not only the game, but also the pre- and post-match shows, a Blacklist episode and even the Half Time program featuring Katy Perry will be available for free streaming.

Unfortunately, no Apple TV channel has sufficient rights to distribute the game and hence, we will have to rely on AirPlay to watch the iconic event on the big screen.

In this post, we will be covering four methods to watch the Super Bowl 2015 on your Apple TV, using AirPlay from different devices.

A. How to watch Super Bowl XLIX on Apple TV using iPad or iPod touch

The NBC Sports Live Extra app can help you there. This official app from NBC will cover the event and it also supports AirPlay mirroring.

Sunday night, fire up the app, choose the game and play the video stream, slide up the Control Center and choose your Apple TV. Now sit back and enjoy the game.

Get NBC Sports Live Extra app from the App Store for free.

This is probably the easiest of all methods. Unfortunately, this service is available only on iPad and iPod touch but not the iPhone, thanks to Verizon’s exclusive broadcast rights for smartphones.

B. How to watch Super Bowl 2015 on Apple TV using Mac or Windows PC

NBC has confirmed that they will live broadcast the entire event on their website, too. You can browse the site on your computer and AirPlay the video from there to the Apple TV. Bookmark this link if you’re planning to use this method.

On a Mac, the AirPlay capability is built right in and you just need to select your Apple TV from the top bar to get things going.

But if you’re on a Windows machine, you’ll need a third-party software to do so. AirParrot is a fairly popular one and also comes with a 7 day trial. You can check out our review of AirParrot or download it here.

C. How to watch Super Bowl 2015 on Apple TV using iPhone

If you’re on a Verizon iPhone, you can download their NFL Mobile app. The app will surely cover the Super Sunday but as you can see in the screenshot above (right), many videos in the app block video playing over AirPlay. Hence, it is unclear if the app will allow broadcasting of the game to your Apple TV. If they do, even non-Verizon users can use it but for a $4.99 subscription.

The best part is that the app will support our favorite Super Bowl ads, too.

The NFL Mobile app is the simplest method for iPhoners but since its availability is uncertain, there is an alternative way: this would be to use the website stream like we did with the computers.

Just use Safari to reach NBCSports. Stream the event and simply turn on AirPlay Mirroring to your Apple TV. If you need a more intuitive experience, you can try AirBrowser, a browser app designed for Apple TV.

D. How to watch Super Bowl XLIX on Apple TV outside the US

1. Those who want to watch the game from abroad can do so by buying an NFL Game Pass from here, but it will cost you $9.99. You will be able to watch the game on your PC or Mac and AirPlay it to your Apple TV (see above).

2. On an iOS device, you can use apps like TunnelBear to VPN your iPhone into a US server, in under a minute. However, this would set you back 3 dollars for the month. Once your device is US-ified, you can follow any of the above (A and C) methods to watch Super Bowl XLIX this Sunday.

3. If you’re residing in a country where a channel is officially broadcasting this Super Bowl, it is likely than the provider has an iOS app which can be used to stream the game and AirPlay to your Apple TV.

Here is the list of various broadcast partners around the world.

E. Sources supporting Super Bowl commercials

Admit it, the ads make the Super Bowl more worth watching and I know that many of you’re wondering if they can be enjoyed on Apple TV. Unfortunately, only the NFL Mobile app will carry these commercials along the game.

Others will have to enjoy them later via this channel on YouTube.

Summing up

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Cricket fans in Australia are going to love their Apple TVs a bit more thanks to the new Cricket Australia channel. It is the official channel of cricket.com.au, which is the highest governing body in the country for professional and amateur cricketing.

The channel on Apple TV will be bringing exclusive HD videos from the cricket world to the users, for free.

The content includes the latest news and features, highlights from everyday international matches played in Australia and also access to many historical cricket matches from the site’s archive.

Another set of contents includes behind the scenes coverage of matches, personal programmes with stars like Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist, and also Cricket skill tutorials from experts including George Bailey, Nathan Lyon and Ellyse Perry.

As you might’ve noticed, there is no mention about broadcasting live matches via the channel. Cricket Australia spokesperson Andrew Baber confirmed that they haven’t considered bringing live content to Apple TV just yet.

So if you are looking to follow the action in real-time, you still need to tune into Channel Nine or subscribe to Cricket Australia Live iOS app for $5/month or $30/year.

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Judging from the reports so far, Apple is planning a huge keynote for this Tuesday. They’ve chosen to build a tall new building for the event (in front of the Flint Center), as opposed to the usual Yerba Buena Center and its Town Hall Theatre. Also it is worth remembering what Eddy Cue commented on this year’s releases, “the best product pipeline I’ve seen in 25 years.” Though we can never be sure, it is expected that Apple will release two new models of iPhone and an iWatch at the event, along with iOS 8 HomeKit and HealthKit.

Unfortunately, there is not enough speculations suggesting an impending Apple TV refresh. In fact, you may have to wait till early next year to get your hands on the Apple TV 4, according to this rumor.

However if it is any consolation, Apple TV users will be able to live stream the event on Tuesday. If things follow as before, Apple TV will gain a new channel called Apple Events in a couple days, which will bring the live keynote to your television.

Live video from our special event will be right here. And so will a whole lot more.
Join us at Apple.com on September 9 at 10 a.m. PDT to follow every moment.
Live streaming video requires Safari 5.1.10 or later on OS X v10.6.8 or later; Safari on iOS 6.0 or later. Streaming via Apple TV requires second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 6.2 or later.

The event is scheduled to be held on September 9th, at 10am PST. Apple has a countdown setup at the announcement page with a link to easily add a calendar event. If you think you’ll be enjoying the keynote, be sure to make use of that.

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I woke up this morning to the news of two major content additions to Apple TV. This has been a routine lately but the difference here is that neither of these adds a new channel icon to the home screen, but instead streams within existing apps. Thank God they do!

First and the more exiting one is that The Oscars will be available for live stream first time ever. Yep! ABC is bringing live telecast of the Academy Awards night and the ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Oscars‘ show to the Watch ABC channel on Apple TV and the corresponding iOS app. But apparently not everyone is entitled to the privilege as they’ve laid down a pretty complex and long list of restrictions on who can access the stream.

The show’s livestream will be available to Watch ABC authenticated users through eight providers: Comcast, Cablevision, Cox Communications, Charter Communications, Midcontinent Communications, Verizon FiOS, Google Fiber and AT&T U-verse. The service is available only in ABC’s eight owned-station markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and Fresno, Calif.

To know whether you can watch the content or what you need to do the get access, visit this link. However if you can’t get it, a special highlights show ‘Oscars Backstage‘ will be released soon after the event for all users.

Coming to the other half, ESPN has added about 15 Collegiate Sports Conference channels to its WatchESPN channels on Apple TV. Thankfully, these are much less complicated than the former as anyone can follow their favourite College conferences with just a click.

The included channels are America East, Atlantic Sun, Big South, Big West, MEAC, SWAC, CIA, Horizon, MAC, MAAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Southern, Sun Belt and Southland.

However analysts are confused to see the ACC Network among these new channels ‘coz this sports streaming giant was rumoured to be in talks with ESPN for a full-fledged dedicated network. Anyway, these channels are planned to cover more than 2000 men’s and women’s events starting with the Basketball tournament.

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Following the update to their Apple TV app, the NBA is offering an extended trial of their League Pass service right up until November 5th, meaning you can watch the entire first week of the new NBA season for free.

No billing information is necessary to sign up for the free trial, and with the NBA Game Time app available on iOS, and the NBA League Pass on Apple TV, you’ll have everything you’ll need to enjoy free NBA.

After the trial has ended, subscriptions range from $39.99 to $189 depending on what level of subscription you opt for, but what a great way to trial the service and see if NBA Live is for you.

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