Apple has added new channels to Apple TV today — Vevo, Disney Channel, Disney XD, The Weather Channel, and the Smithsonian Channel. Disney XD is a separate channel from Disney Channel, aimed at preteens and teenagers; both Disney channels require signing in with a selected cable provider. Smithsonian Channel includes a collection of on-demand videos, and does not require an existing cable TV subscription. After requesting your city or zip code, The Weather Channel uses a new interface to show you today’s weather, full-screen hourly and 10-day forecasts, region-specific forecast videos, access to Weather Channel shows, topics of interest, and featured videos.
It was expected that Vevo would be introduced to the device soon, and the channel has both live and on-demand music videos. Interestingly, a system update isn’t needed to see the new channels, which means a prior update enabled Apple to add full-fledged channels to the Apple TV at any time. The new channels do not appear to be available outside of the United States at this point.
