Watching ITV on Apple TV with the ITV App.

How to watch ITV on your Apple TV

Update: April 2022

I thought I’d post a quick update to show what Apple TV looks like in the UK and in particular what the ITV Hub app looks like.

To watch ITV on your Apple TV you need to go into the App Store.

This is the big blue icon shown above. On your Apple TV this will be in a slightly different location but will be the same icon. Go into this and then look through the top free apps and you’ll see ITV Hub. Just select this and download it. The ITV Hub App will then be added to your home screen as shown below. Just use the remote to click on this and off you go. If you have any questions about getting this working or your Apple TV in general just post a question below and I’ll do my best to get back to you.

I have also now created an Apple TV Buyers / how to set-up guide and FAQ for British / UK users.

Update: Jan 2019: Just revisiting some of my old blog posts to update them.  In 2018 ITV finally released a native app for the Apple TV. This works really well. So now to watch programmes from ITV on Apple TV you just need to go to the App Store, search for ITV and then install the app/

Update: Jan 2nd 2017: In a recent update ITV has blocked you from mirroring the output to the Apple TV. We can only imagine that they have some rights issues with various content owners that prevent them from allowing us to do this. We suggest you email ITV and let them know how hard they are making it for us to watch their programmes. It would also be worth complaining to Apple as they should be doing more with the UK based channels to get their content onto their platform.

At the time of writing ITV have launched their new ITV Hub App on the iTunes store.  This is the ITV equivalent of the BBC iPlayer. Currently, the ITV Hub App only works on iPhone and iPad and they haven’t released a version for the Apple TV.  This shouldn’t be more than a few days development works for them so we hope they will get on and do it soon. In the meantime, you can use the ITV Hub App on your iPhone and mirror it onto your Apple TV.

Frequently asked questions about ITV Hub

Can you watch ITV on Apple TV?

Yes, you can watch ITV on the Apple TV using the ITV App. Please see above where we describe how to install this free of charge from the app store.

Can you Airplay ITV hub?

There is no need to AirPlay ITV Hub to your Apple TV as you can just install the ITV Hub App directly. This will provide better sound and picture quality than trying to use AirPlay.

Can you Cast ITV hub to Apple TV?

There is no need to Cast ITV Hub to your Apple TV as you can just install the ITV Hub App directly. This will provide better sound and picture quality than trying to use a cast function.

Is ITV player on Apple TV?

Yes there is an ITV Apple TV App. Please see above for details of how to download the ITV Hub App from the Apple TV App Store. This is available free of charge and allows you to watch live programmes and recordings of those you may have missed.

Why is ITV hub Airplay no picture

I recommend that you install the ITV Hub App on the Apple TV rather than use AirPlay as it gives better results.  If you are using AirPlay and only getting sound you may have set it up wrong on your iPad / iPhone.  When you swipe up on an iOS device, the first thing you see is the audio redirect. It is easy to mistakenly just select to send the sound. Instead of this option it it better to use screen mirroring. Look for the button with the two interlocked squares. When you press this you will see a list of the screens you can cast / Airplay the image and sound onto.

How can I watch itv hub on my tv?

Many modern TV sets have online capabilities and it should be possible to download the ITV Hub App for your online TV. If you have an older TV or just prefer the Apple eco-system, we recommend you use an Apple TV box and follow the instructions above. 

Can I watch ITV in USA?

ITV is only available from UK based IP Adresses.  If you are traveling to the USA on holiday and need to watch something it may be possible using VPN software. People in the UK are used to using VPN’s to access US content which is locked down to the US but the other way around is more unusal. VPN software allows you to select which country you want an IP address from.  All broadcasters will try and block VPN access as they need to do this to honor the rights they own.

How to get subtitles on ITVHub.

ITV Hub supports subtitles. On Apple TV you can switch these on in two ways. The easiest way is to press the Siri button and then just say “Subtitles On”.

The Siri button is the microphone button on the left under the menu button. Hold this down and speak your command into the remote control which contains a small microphone.

The other option is to swipe down on the touch area of the remote. This will display the audio menu shown in the picture below. From here you can switch subtitles on and off.