What Happened
One highlight feature of the new Apple TV that was unveiled last month is Universal Search, which allows users to search for content via Siri in a granular manner – down to a specific episode or even a specific guest star – across multiple OTT content platforms. At launch, this feature only supports select launch partners such as Netflix, Hulu, Showtime, and HBO, which vastly limits the reach of this killer feature. So it came as no surprise that Tim Cook confirmed, in a recent interview with Buzzfeed, that Apple would soon release an API for Universal Search, which allows developers to easily integrate this feature with their content, so it will show up in the search results as well.
What Brands Need To Do
As we previously wrote in our Fast Forward analysis on the new Apple TV, Universal Search provides an unprecedented opportunity for new content discovery across integrated apps, especially from lesser-known services. Now that Apple has confirmed that it will soon open this feature up to all providers, brands need to be prepared to add Universal Search support to their Apple TV app as soon as the API arrives, and to start by indexing their content for it to appear in favorable spots when users search for certain keywords.
Source: Buzzfeed
