Josh Hendrickson
Do you like to watch your Google play purchased movies and tv shows on your Roku, Samsung, LG, or Vizio smart tv? If so, you’re going to have to adjust which app you use—the Google Play Movies & TV smart tv apps will shut down on June 15. You’ll need to move to YouTube.
Google announced the news through an email sent to users and on a pop-up prompt in the apps. In the email it explains:
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 Google Play Movies & TV app will no longer be available on these devices.
To access all of your previous purchases, log into the YouTube app using the account you use on Google Play Movies & TV, navigate to the “Library” tab, and click on “Your movies and shows.”
If you purchased Movies Anywhere compatible films, you could watch those on any of the apps that support Movies Anywhere, like Vudo or Amazon Prime. But not all movies work with the service, nor do any TV shows. For everything else, you have to use the YouTube app.
That might be a better pill to swallow for LG NetCast and LG SimpleSmart devices, which isn’t supported. But for most smart TV owners, YouTube should be an option. However, if you own plenty of content purchased through Google Play, you may find YouTube’s navigation subpar compared to the Google Play app.
You may want to check your email while you’re at it. Google is sending out a one-time use code as a “thank you” to users affected by the change. It’s not clear who gets it and who won’t, so don’t miss out.
