Google TV to allow ‘deep link’ to other apps with a TV guide, Marketing & Advertising News, ET BrandEquity

Google TV’s “guide” for content can be a handy feature that allows users to find the platforms where various movies and TV shows are available for streaming or purchase

Google TV comes with a “TV guide” feature that helps users to discover what content is available on which platform. This feature has been replicated by some third-party tv app

developers. However, Amazon is reportedly blocking app developers from inculcating this “guide” functionality on its Fire TV platform. Here, we have explained why Amazon might

be blocking TV app developers from using this user-friendly feature on Fire TV services:What is the “TV guide” feature on Google TVGoogle TV’s “guide” for content can be

a handy feature that allows users to find the platforms where various movies and TV shows are available for streaming or purchase. In certain cases, this feature also allows for

those pages to “deep link” to other apps. For example, if you are searching for certain content, Google TV shows a button that can directly pull up the show from the app where

it is available. Plex is a US-based streaming media service and a client-server media player platform. Last year, this platform adopted a functionality across its apps. The Plex

feature is called “Discover” and just like the Google TV feature, it can also find shows and movies across services and link to them directly. According to a report by Tech

Hive, Plex’s “Discover” feature is now blocked on Amazon Fire TV.Why Amazon is blocking this Google TV featureAs per the report, Amazon has reportedly changed its policies to

block apps on Fire TV from deep-linking to other apps. However, the US-based e-tailer giant has not confirmed any such changes.Apart from Amazon, Roku also blocks third-party apps

from deep-linking with other apps. This is why Plex never launched its “Discover” feature on this platform. Amazon made a similar move by blocking third-party launchers.

However, the company allowed Google’s Android TV partners to manufacture Fire TV models.Nominate your digital campaign(s) in the forthcoming ET India DigiPlus Awards. Click here

to know more.When Covid shut the world down, it was tech that kept it up and running. All things digital surged even as the rest of the sectors tanked. But then things changed. The

Nasdaq composite, a tech-heavy index, shed off one third of its value. That is equal to India’s GDP. MX Player was ahead of Amazon Prime Video, which came in fourth, according to

the State of Mobile 2023 report by Data.ai, formerly known as App Annie. Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals Subscribe to our newsletter to get latest insights &