The death of Google Play Movies is a needed step for Google TV, but it means more people will be subjected to YouTube’s awful alternative.
This week, Google announced another step towards the end of Play Movies & TV as it continues to push towards Google TV instead. It’s the right call, but with a headache attached for many customers. Google Play Movies & TV has been around for over a decade, since 2011. The product acted as a marketplace and library for digital movies and TV shows, much like iTunes, Vudu, and Amazon Video. Play Movies & TV was available across almost every platform, from Roku to Apple TV to Android and iOS, along with Google’s own Android TV platform and Chromecast. This week, Google announced that it would shutter the Play Movies & TV brand and functionality in the Play Store on Android, shifting library management and purchases to the Google TV app as well as the Google TV platform on devices such as the Chromecast and TVs from Sony and TCL. Google TV is not a cross-platform product, and Google has shown virtually no interest in that path. Nearly two years later, there’s still no Google TV app for iOS, and Google TV has only replaced Play Movies on Android in a select number of countries, with little expansion. There were apps for Play Movies on smart TVs too, but those were shut down last Summer on Roku, Vizio, and LG TVs. This presents a bit of a problem for users.
