Google’s Chromecast is beefing up its streaming media offerings with the addition of several new apps.
The dongle, which is plugged into an HDTV to equip it for streaming video, now has three Disney apps including WATCH Disney and WATCH Disney Junior, which means shows such as Girl Meets World and Doc McStuffins are now available on the service. It has also added the iHeartRadio app to give Chromecast users access to more than 1,500 live radio stations. In addition, Chromecast has added Twitch, the live video game play broadcaster recently acquired by Amazon, and DramaFever, a streaming network for international television programming.
The new apps join Chromecast’s more than 350 existing streaming options, including Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu Plus and Watch ABC.
Google launched Chromecast in July 2013 to compete with Apple TV and Roku. Since then, Amazon has also come to market with the Fire TV streaming device. At $35, Chromecast is significantly cheaper than the other devices, which retail for $99. Google has not announced how many Chromecast devices it has sold during the product’s first year, but Apple has sold more than 20 million of its over-the-top boxes and Roku more than 10 million.
Email: Natalie.Jarvey@THR.com
Twitter: @NatJarv
