Substack ventures into the world of big-screen TV with new apps

You can watch your favorite Substack creators on Apple TV and Google TV

(Credit: Substack)

• 📺 Substack is adding support for new Apple TV and Google TV apps with its new video content

• 👏 Users will be able to access video based on their subscription tier to different providers, including The Shortcut’s Live Show

• 👀 The move takes a similar idea to YouTube, complete with channel pages and its own algorithm for recommendations

• 👍 Substack is also working on adding free previews of paid content, a search function and more

Substack, the very platform that The Shortcut is hosted on, is venturing into the world of big-screen TV.

There’s a new app for the platform’s live video selection, including our very own The Shortcut Live show, that can be accessed via Apple TV and Google TV devices.

Substack first expanded into the world of live video around 18 months ago, and it’s since been one of the fastest features to be adopted. There’s even been a range of folks who have moved over from the old guard of cable news.

Substack has said the initial rollout of the Google TV and Apple TV apps will focus “reliable, high-quality viewing” for the platform’s long-form videos. It centers around video posts and livestreams from the creators and publications you follow, hopefully including us!

As with other video platforms, there is also a “For You” section which combines those videos with recommendations from the algorithm. You can also find dedicated channel pages for extended viewing.

The access you get to a channel depends on your level of subscription. For instance, if a channel restricts videos to paying subscribers on the Substack app and website, then you won’t be able to access them on a free tier.

With this in mind, Substack has said it’s working on adding previews of paid content to free tier subscribers, and also intends to add audio posts, plus improved means of discovering content including search, and separate sections for different shows within a single publication.

Former CNN news anchor Jim Acosta, who has moved to Substack, has called the rollout of video and the subsequent Google TV and Apple TV apps a “game-changing moment for the rise of independent media.”

Others have been less enthusiastic, with one saying to “File this under – thing we didn’t ask for” while another swiftly added that “This is not YouTube.”

Whichever way you look at it, the move from Substack into video and onto the big screen sees it double down on what it thinks is going to be a successful venture, and that’s only a good thing if it works out.

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Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.