truTV vs Thirteen Explore
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
truTV
Stream live sports, full episodes of popular TV shows, and movies on demand. Sign in with your TV provider to access content from truTV and enjoy entertainment anytime, anywhere.
- Watch live sports
- Stream full TV episodes
- Enjoy blockbuster movies
- Sign in with TV provider
- Access truTV originals
- Watch anytime, anywhere
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ALWAYS HERE FOR A GOOD LAUGH The truTV app makes watching live sports, full episodes and movies easy! Sign in with your TV Provider to catch live sports like Mountain West football, MotoGP, MLB, NHL , and classic truTV originals like Impractical Jokers, Tacoma FD, Adam Ruins Everything, and more. Watch anytime, anywhere with the truTV app. Plus, enjoy blockbuster movies -- on any screen. The truTV app supports most TV Providers, including AT&T, Spectrum (incl. Time Warner Cable, Charter & Bright House), Comcast XFINITY, Cox, DIRECTV, Dish, Optimum, Suddenlink, Verizon, and many more.
Thirteen Explore
Stream full episodes of popular PBS and THIRTEEN programs, including Masterpiece, Nature, and Frontline, directly to your iPhone and iPad. Access New York-centric shows and livestream THIRTEEN if you're in the NYC metro area. Cast content to your TV using Apple TV and Chromecast.
- Stream full episodes
- Masterpiece, Nature, Frontline
- New York-centric shows
- Livestream THIRTEEN (NYC)
- Cast to TV
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Your favorite THIRTEEN and PBS programs like Masterpiece, Nature and Frontline - streamed right to your iPhone and iPad! THIRTEEN Explore includes: * Full episodes from programs such as Masterpiece, American Masters, PBS NewsHour, Great Performances, Nature, NOVA, Antiques Roadshow and Frontline * New York-centric shows like NYC-ARTS, MetroFocus, Treasures of New York and NJTV News * Stream via Apple TV and Chromecast to your TV * Livestream THIRTEEN (must be in the NYC metropolitan area)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Thirteen Explore at 70% against truTV's 16%. Thirteen Explore also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Thirteen Explore holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14K and 5.8K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 16% of truTV's written reviews are positive against 70% of Thirteen Explore's.
truTV ships an update every 3 months, Thirteen Explore every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | truTV | Thirteen Explore |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (14K ratings) | 4.8 (5.8K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 16.2% of reviews | 70.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 14K — better | 5.8K |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 109 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. | Thirteen/WNET |
Customer experience
truTV
Thirteen Explore
User reviews
truTV
From 14K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💡 Great content like Impractical Jokers and Adam Ruins Everything
- 👍 Decent user interface
Room to improve
- 🐛 Constant crashes and bugs
- 🔁 Endless ad loops and poor ad integration
- 📺 Inability to continue watching from where you left off
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find content
- 🔒 Frequent sign-out issues and login problems
Thirteen Explore
From 5.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Quality entertainment and education
- 👍 Variety of programming
- 👍 Reliable and trustworthy content
- 👍 Ability to watch missed episodes
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy app with login and playback issues
- 🤔 Lack of user-friendly features (e.g., episode tracking, Chromecast support)
- 🤔 Limited content availability for Passport members
Bugs and requests
truTV
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes when trying to watch episodes
- Freezes and becomes unresponsive
- Login screen issues and inability to sign in
- Video playback problems and constant buffering
Requested features
4 requests- Add ability to turn off closed captions
- Implement Chromecast/AirPlay support
- Add a 'continue watching' feature
- Improve overall app stability and performance
Thirteen Explore
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login screen freezes or doesn't work
- Playback issues, such as app crashing or getting kicked out
- Incompatibility with certain devices (e.g., Firestick)
Requested features
3 requests- Add episode tracking and resume playback functionality
- Improve Chromecast support with features like closed captions
- Expand Passport content library to include more archived shows
In-app purchases
truTV
No in-app purchases
Thirteen Explore
No in-app purchases
