Apple TV, the streaming-media box with wide reach but a highly selective collection of channels, just added one app that its main rival Roku lacks: FX Now.
FX Now is the streaming app for 21st Century Fox’s networks cable FX, FXX, and FXM, previously available on iOS and Windows 8.
After FXX Networks in November acquired the rights to broadcast “The Simpsons” first 24 seasons in a high-profile syndication deal, the FX Now app was due to begin streaming all 530 episodes of the long-running series. CNET checked the app on Apple TV Tuesday and couldn’t find “The Simpsons” available.
In July, FXX previewed a new website and app called “Simpsons World,” separate from FX Now, that will allow fans to watch any episode, or clip, at any time. The app was expected to launch in October.
An FX representative didn’t immediately respond to questions.
The $99 Apple TV, which connects to televisions to the Internet to stream video through a select number of apps, is one of — if not the most — prevalent device of its type, competing against the likes of Roku and newcomers Chromecast from Google and Fire TV from Amazon. Though Apple has sold more of the set-top box than its closest competitor Roku has, Roku often touts that it’s used more often — partly because its stable of thousands of channels contrasts the relatively lean options on Apple TV.