Let’s be honest, this isn’t all that surprising. The Google Play video app has been around for years but does anyone actually use the thing? It was initially a rather snazzy little idea, being able to sync up whatever movies or series you bought on Google Play with whatever device you have the app loaded on to. But that’s just not how people do things any more and thus, Google is dropping the guillotine on the Play Movies and TV app. All the content you’ve bought through Google Play will be accessible via YouTube and all credits loaded to your account will still be available for future purchases. The only thing that really changes is watching your purchases through YouTube which isn’t really a bother.
Yet with streaming services dominating the media landscape at the moment, folks aren’t really looking to purchase digital versions of the content they want to consume. They’ll either rent digital versions or purchase hard copies. So then what’s the point of the Play Movies and TV app? Well, you’ve answered your own question, haven’t you?
Throw another one on the Google pile
It may be a little to early to say that the search giant is killing off the app (even though it wouldn’t be uncommon for it to do so, Google Shopping was just shut confirmed as dead yesterday) because it’s actually just splitting it up and merging it with Google’s TV software. So less of a funeral and more of a going away party.
An email to users highlighting the closure of the service was sent out a while back saying, “Starting June 15, 2021, the YouTube app will be your new home for movies and shows on Roku, Samsung, LG and Vizio smart TVs. The Play Movies & TV app will no longer be available on these devices.” Only a few of those apply to us here as Roku and Vizio smart TVs aren’t readily available in South Africa. You can read Google’s full statement here.
Source: Engadget