One video source, four native TV apps: what each platform needs, what it costs, and the order that gets your channel onto Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV fastest.
Distributing a TV channel means getting your own app onto the four operating systems that run most living-room screens: Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV (which includes Google TV). As of November 2026, each of the four has its own store, its own developer account, its own app format and its own review. The video does not have to be copied four times: one source can feed all four apps.
This guide covers what each platform needs, how the four fit together, and the order that gets a channel onto all of them with the least waiting. We build these apps at Tappla, so read it with that in mind.
Keep your videos and your live stream where they are. Build one native app per platform from that single source, publish each app under your own developer account, and start with the platform whose account takes longest to set up, which is almost always Apple.
On a smart TV or a streaming stick, a “channel” is an app with your name and icon on the home screen. On Roku the word is literal: apps are called channels. On Apple TV, Fire TV and Android TV they are called apps, and they do the same job.
A channel can be a 24/7 linear stream, a library of on-demand videos, or both in one app. A church may run Sunday’s live service above its sermon archive; a city channel may run its 24/7 broadcast above recorded council meetings. If your channel is a free, ad-supported linear stream, our guide to putting a FAST channel on your own TV apps covers that side in detail.
You can also place content inside another company’s app. That brings reach, but the listing, the brand on the screen and the viewer relationship belong to that company. Your own app is listed under your name and stays yours. On Apple TV this difference has its own explainer: Apple TV channels vs. standalone apps.
| Roku | Fire TV | Apple TV | Android TV / Google TV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Store | Roku Channel Store | Amazon Appstore | App Store | Google Play |
| Developer account | Roku, free | Amazon, free | Apple, $99/year | Google Play, $25 one-time |
| App format | Native SDK channel (BrightScript) | Signed APK | Native tvOS app | Signed app bundle (AAB) |
| Video formats | HLS or MP4 | HLS or MP4 | HLS | HLS or MP4 |
| Review | Roku certification | Amazon review | App Store review | Play review plus a TV quality review |
| Who submits | You, under your account | You | You | You |
Developer-account fees go to the platforms directly. The price of the apps themselves depends on who builds them; Tappla’s plans are on the pricing page.
Roku apps are native SDK channels written in BrightScript. Roku retired its no-code Direct Publisher in January 2024, so a new channel has to be a real SDK app. You publish it to the Roku Channel Store through a free Roku developer account, and Roku certifies it before it goes live. Details: Roku channel builder, and the walk-through on creating a Roku channel in under an hour.
Fire TV runs Fire OS, which is built on Android. A Fire TV app is a signed APK published to the Amazon Appstore through a free Amazon developer account. Amazon asks for a data-collection questionnaire and reviews the app before it appears. Details: Fire TV app builder and how to build an Amazon Fire TV app.
Apple TV runs tvOS. A native tvOS app is uploaded to App Store Connect under your Apple developer account ($99 a year) and goes through App Store review. Apple TV plays HLS, not MP4 files. Organizations usually enroll as an organization, which needs a D-U-N-S number; that step is the slowest part of the whole project. Details: Apple TV app development.
Android TV and Google TV run the same apps, published on Google Play. Google takes TV apps only as signed app bundles and runs a separate TV quality review: remote-control navigation, a home-screen banner, no touch dependency. The Play developer account costs $25 once. Because Fire TV is also Android, both apps can come from one codebase. Details: Android TV app development.
The four operating systems reach far more than streaming sticks:
Samsung (Tizen) and LG (webOS) sets run their own systems. Tappla does not build for them; their owners reach your channel through a Roku, Fire TV, Google TV or Apple TV device.
The apps do not need their own copy of your videos. They read from the source you already run: Vimeo, Bunny Stream, Resi, BoxCast, Wowza Video, Viloud, a JSON feed, or any HLS stream from StreamSpot, Living As One or a CDN. The full list, with what each source needs, is on the integrations page.
Tappla reads that source and turns it into one feed that all four apps load. A new video on your source shows up in every app without a new store submission. A change to your logo or colors in the dashboard reaches the apps the next time they load. Only things that live inside the app package, such as the app icon or the name under it, need a new build.
A live stream gets its own place at the top of the home screen on all four platforms, with the on-demand library below it.
Apple developer enrollment as an organization, with D-U-N-S verification and the agreements, can take a few weeks. Start it on day one, while everything else is built.
Roku and Amazon accounts are free and quick. The Google Play account costs $25 and asks for identity verification.
Connect your video source, add your logo and colors, and preview the real app in the browser. This happens once, not once per platform.
Tappla hands over the signed builds and the store images; you do the final submit in each store. Each store reviews on its own schedule, so the apps go live one after another, not on the same day.
Connecting a source and branding take an afternoon. Most organizations have their first app in review within days. Apple enrollment is the usual bottleneck: an organization that already has an Apple developer account can be on all four platforms in a few weeks, one that starts from zero should plan for the D-U-N-S step on top.
Four things add up: the developer accounts (Apple $99 a year, Google Play $25 once, Roku and Amazon free), your existing video hosting, which does not change, the apps, and your time for the store listings. With Tappla there is no setup fee; the plans are on the pricing page. A custom development shop is the other route: separate native code per platform, plus the upkeep every time a store changes a requirement.
How do I distribute my TV channel on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV?
Build one native app per platform from a single video source, then publish each one in its store under your own developer account: the Roku Channel Store, the Amazon Appstore, the App Store and Google Play. A builder like Tappla generates all four apps from one feed, so you do not maintain four copies of your library.
Do I need a separate app for each TV operating system?
Yes. Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV each run their own app format and have their own store. The apps can still share one video source and one feed, so content and branding are managed once.
Which developer accounts do I need?
An Apple developer account ($99 a year), a Roku developer account (free), an Amazon developer account (free) and a Google Play developer account ($25 once). They belong to your organization, so the listings stay yours.
Does one app cover Fire TV and Android TV?
They share most of their code, because Fire OS is built on Android, but they ship as two packages to two stores: an APK to the Amazon Appstore and an app bundle to Google Play.
What about Samsung and LG smart TVs?
Tappla does not build Samsung (Tizen) or LG (webOS) apps. Owners of those sets watch through a Roku, Fire TV, Google TV or Apple TV device. Roku TVs, Fire TV editions and Android TV / Google TV sets run the apps directly.
Who owns the channel if I switch builders later?
You do, as long as the listings are in your own developer accounts. The listing, its reviews and its installs stay with you.
Can the channel carry a live stream and a video library?
Yes. The live stream sits at the top of the home screen above the on-demand library in all four apps, and the library updates from your source on its own.
Connect the video source you already run and ship native apps under your own accounts. From $49/month.