Thirteen Explore vs CUNY TV
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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
Read full descriptionHide full description
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)
CUNY TV
Access educational television programming from The City University of New York on your mobile device. Explore content on arts, public affairs, race, and academic events from various CUNY colleges. Share engaging programs with friends anytime, anywhere.
- Arts & entertainment programs
- Public affairs and politics
- Race and ethnicity topics
- Lectures and academic events
- Content from 25 CUNY colleges
- Share programs with friends
Read full descriptionHide full description
CUNY TV is the public educational television station of The City University of New York, featuring programs on arts & entertainment, race and ethnicity, public affairs, politics and more. CUNY TV also broadcasts engaging educational content, such as lectures and academic events, from our 25 colleges’ programs and institutes including Hunter College’s CENTRO, Baruch College, Queens College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the CUNY Graduate Center. The CUNY TV app allows you to explore CUNY TV content whenever and wherever you want, share stories with your friends and watch our programs all from your mobile device! Our mission is to educate, inform and entertain our viewers. The app is brought to you by the staff at CUNY TV and Public Media Apps. https://tv.cuny.edu https://www.publicmediaapps.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Thirteen Explore at 4.8 against CUNY TV's 3.7. Thirteen Explore also leads on ratings volume (5.8K vs 6). CUNY TV's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support 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
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 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Thirteen Explore has 5.8K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Thirteen Explore ships an update every 5 months, CUNY TV every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Thirteen Explore | CUNY TV |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (5.8K ratings) — better | 3.7 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 69.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5.8K — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Thirteen/WNET | CUNY TV |
Customer experience
Thirteen Explore
CUNY TV
Bugs and requests
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
CUNY TV
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Thirteen Explore
No in-app purchases
CUNY TV
No in-app purchases
