Channels vs TV Launcher
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Channels
This app allows you to watch live TV and recorded shows on any device, even when you're away from home. It offers a unified viewing experience across all your platforms, with features like commercial skipping and the ability to record new episodes of favorite shows.
- Record and watch on any device
- Pause and resume viewing across devices
- Schedule recordings remotely
- Skip commercials automatically
- Watch live TV with pause, rewind, and fast forward
- Support for surround sound and closed captioning
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Cut the cord without missing your shows. You don't have to lose your DVR just because you canceled your cable. Channels is easy for the whole family to love. Watch your favorite programs on every TV and device, from the living room, hotel room, or even on your commute. Channels delivers a unified experience across all your TVs, devices, and streaming platforms. Learn more about Channels and how it works at http://getchannels.com/features/ -- Record Your Shows -- • Record in one place, watch on every TV & iOS device. • Pause in one room and resume in another, or on your iPhone or iPad. • Pick your favorite shows or teams, and choose to record all or just their new airings. • Browse or search through 21 days worth of guide data that updates daily. • Schedule a recording from your phone while you're away from home. • Watch your favorite shows or teams while you're away from home. Live or recorded. • Watch your shows while they're currently recording. Don't wait for them to finish. • Your recordings get their commercials indexed, and can be automatically skipped. -- Watch Live TV -- • Pause, rewind, and fast forward live TV. • Support for full 5.1 surround sound. • Full support for closed captioning and alternate audio tracks. • Mark channels as favorites. Browse them for quicker access to your favorite networks. • Full support for VoiceOver. Browse and watch TV with ease. NOTE: DVR features require Channels DVR Server installed and running on your home computer or NAS to stream to your devices. Learn more at https://getchannels.com/dvr-server/ -- People Love Channels -- "One of the most capable cord-cutting replacements for a cable DVR" - TechHive "Apple TV just became the best box for streaming live broadcast TV" — Macworld "Apple TV already has at least one 'killer app'. The new third-party Apple TV app, Channels." — MacDailyNews "I can tell you it’s buttery smooth" — Zatz Not Funny! For questions, concerns, bug reports, and feature requests, contact us on twitter @getchannels or via email support@getchannels.com
TV Launcher
This app consolidates live US TV channels from various streaming services into a single, easy-to-navigate launcher. It offers quick access to channels and programs, with features like widgets, Siri Shortcuts, and Apple Watch integration for a seamless cord-cutting experience.
- Consolidated live US TV channels
- Direct channel launching
- Widgets and Siri Shortcuts
- Apple Watch integration
- Full TV guide listings
- Watchlist with notifications
- Customizable favorites and hidden channels
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TV Launcher brings many live US TV channels that you know and love into one convenient launcher across Apple platforms. As the perfect app for cord-cutters, it’s never been easier to start watching live channels. * As featured on iMore & 9to5Mac * Appleʼs TV app makes it easy to track programs that have already been on but for the occasions where you want to watch live, it’s not so straightforward. You’ll have to open the app, find where the channels list is within the app, locate the channel you want to watch and the press play. TV Launcher takes away that pain by combining live channels from across multiple streaming apps into one location. Selecting a channel will then take you directly to the channel in the app without jumping through any hoops! TV Launcher contains these great features: US STREAMING PLATFORMS TV Launcher supports many US streaming platforms that have live TV! You’ll be able to jump straight to channels in CBS, ABC, NBC, FXNOW, TNT, TBS, Nat Geo TV, Tubi, Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Plex, ESPN, DAZN, NBA, MUTV, CNN, Bloomberg, Sky News, euronews, France 24, Al Jazeera and NHK World. WIDGETS & SHORTCUTS Multiple widgets are available so you'll be able to see what's on and select channels without even opening the app! Support for Siri Shortcuts means you can watch channels, fetch listings and perform other actions using just your voice on this device or a connected HomePod! There is also a Shortcut that will allow you to open the channel on your linked Apple TV too! APPLE WATCH Quickly see what's on now & next or add a Complication to your Watch Face with the TV Launcher app for Apple Watch. There's support for viewing a full day's listings and details about each program too. LIVE CHANNELS View what’s on for every channel in one place with full artwork for each channel and the ability to jump into the program to find out more. TV GUIDE Check out a full guide of listings for every channel so you can decide what to watch! WATCHLIST Add programs to your Watchlist and get notified when they’re about to start. NOW & NEXT See what's currently on and what will be on straight afterwards. FAVORITES If you have a select few channels you always like to watch, add them to your favorites list. HIDE CHANNELS Not interested in the news or don’t have kids? Choose the channels you want to hide and only keep around the ones you’re likely to watch. ICLOUD SYNCING Your favorite channels, hidden channels and other settings all sync via iCloud so if you have multiple devices using TV Launcher, they'll all be kept in sync. REGION Choose from East or West so you get shown the channels you expect. UNIVERSAL PURCHASE Get this app across multiple Apple platforms with a single purchase. If you like this app, I’d really appreciate it if you could take the time to leave a positive review! Having issues? Please get in touch: Email: support@adamfoot.dev Website: https://adamfoot.dev Please note that to watch a selected channel, you will need the respective app installed. Some channels may only launch the app due to availability in the corresponding app. TV Launcher cannot be guaranteed to work outside of the supported regions due to the availability of supported apps in specific countries. All channels, their content and respective trademarks are owned by them and this app is not affiliated with them in any way.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Channels at Free against TV Launcher's $6.99. Channels also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.9) and ratings volume (577 vs 20). TV Launcher's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks) and device support (6 vs 3). On review sentiment, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Channels is free to download; TV Launcher costs $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Channels holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Channels has 577 ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Channels's written reviews are positive against 67% of TV Launcher's.
Channels ships an update every 3 weeks, TV Launcher every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Channels | TV Launcher |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $6.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (577 ratings) — better | 2.9 (20 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 72.8% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 577 — better | 20 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 108 MB | 292 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Fancy Bits, LLC | Adam Foot |
Customer experience
Channels
TV Launcher
Bugs and requests
Channels
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
TV Launcher
Reported bugs
3 issues- TV guide not loading properly
- Incorrect channel launching
- Compatibility issues with certain devices
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to hide channels by provider
- Option to set favorites list
- Indicator for subtitled programs
- Sync settings across devices
In-app purchases
Channels
No in-app purchases
TV Launcher
No in-app purchases









