Amazon Fire TV Introduces Live TV Streaming in India

Fire TV users can access channels including Sony SAB HD, Colors HD, Nick HD+, News18 India, MTV Beats HD, SONY BBC Earth HD, Discovery, and more.

By Tasneem Akolawala | Updated: 8 October 2020 13:34 IST

Amazon Fire TV Introduces Live TV Streaming in India

Fire TV and Fire TV Edition users are getting the new ‘Live’ tab from today

Highlights

Fire TV’s live streaming feature rolling out now
There is a new ‘On Now’ row that will show live content
Fire TV’s ‘Live’ tab also has a channel guide

Amazon Fire TV users can now stream live TV in India. This new feature encompasses all live TV channels offered by streaming apps in one place that helps make discovering live content easier. The new Live tab on the navigation panel also offers Channel Guides to see which show is currently running, and upcoming shows through the day. The live TV feature is rolling out for existing users starting today and new customers should see the feature in the coming weeks.

Fire TV and Fire TV Edition users in India are getting a new Live tab. As mentioned, the rollout has begun from today and it will be completed over the next few weeks. For new customers, the Live tab will be available within a few weeks after the device is activated. Amazon has initially partnered with SonyLIV, Voot, Discovery+, and NexG TV, whose channels will show up under the Live tab. The company said in a press release that it will integrate live content from Zee5 soon.

Customers can access live channels including Sony SAB HD, Colors HD, SET HD, Nick HD+, Dangal, DD National, News18 India, MTV Beats HD, SONY BBC Earth HD, Mastii TV Music, and Discovery. Zee TV, Zee Cinema, and Zee News are expected to join the lineup as well.

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The new Live tab will eliminate the need for a user to head to separate apps for watching TV channels. It also eradicates the need to tediously remember which channel belongs to which streaming provider.

Apart from the new Live tab, Fire TV users are also getting a new On Now row on the Fire TV home screen that makes it easier to find, browse, and access live content from subscribed apps. The On Now row will particularly highlight all programmes that are currently live on different channels. This row will only be accessible to new users once they download and subscribe to the integrated apps. Existing customers will see the row based on their app downloads and subscription status. Shows featuring in this row will have a red bar at the bottom of their thumbnail, indicating the real-time progress of the show.

New channel guide that has been integrated to show upcoming content from subscribed apps

At the bottom of the Live tab, there is a new channel guide that has been integrated to show upcoming content from subscribed apps. This is accessible from the Options row of the Live tab. This integrated guide allows customers to choose a channel of their choice and browse what's on now. For Fire TV Lite customers, channel guide can be accessed through the guide button on their Alexa Voice Remote Lite. After the live TV feature is activated, customers can also access their favourite channels by simply saying, “Alexa, Watch [channel name].”

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The Live TV feature has not yet arrived on our Fire TV device. As the company notes, it could take a few weeks for all users to receive it.

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