Enlarge (credit: Google)
It sure seems like “Google Play Movies & TV,” Google’s video content store, is on the way out. Late last year, the Android version of the Play Movies & TV app was rebranded as “Google TV,” and now, Google is announcing (via 9to5Google) that on many smart TV platforms, Google’s purchased video content will be accessible from the YouTube app. The transition will start June 15, when Google says the “Google Play Movies & TV app will no longer be available on Roku, Samsung, LG, and Vizio smart TVs.”
Like any Google service transition (we are experts at this by now), this move comes with some caveats. Google notes that all your old purchases will be available on YouTube, but new purchases made on YouTube don’t support family sharing across family member accounts. The Google Play TV watchlist also won’t be making the jump. Additionally, there are several forum complaints already saying that the YouTube app on certain platforms lacks the surround sound audio or HDR support that Play Movies had.
Google Play Movies & TV launched in 2012 (previously, it was “Google Movies”) as a way to buy and rent professional, Hollywood-style video content through Google’s ecosystem. It launched as part of the unified Google Play ecosystem, alongside the Google Play app store, Google Play Books, Play Music, and Play Magazines. Google Play Magazine eventually became Google Play Newsstand and shut down in 2018 in favor of the revamped Google News. Google Play Music died in 2020, and users were pushed to YouTube Music. That makes two dead Google Play brands so far.
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