Amazon Fire TV just got a big upgrade for cord cutters

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Fire TV is letting more live TV apps get space on its home screens.

Amazon Fire TV gains live TV integrations
(Image credit: Amazon)

The Amazon Fire TV platform is continuing to adapt to a world in which live TV streaming apps are more and more important for cord-cutters. Today the company announced its heightened integration for Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and Sling TV. 

These services will now have their content appear more prominently in three places: the Live tab, the On Now rows on the primary home screen and multi-app channel guide. A video demonstrating the changes is below.

You can also see that content from Sling is also appearing in the Recent row on the main home screen, so you can easily jump back to what you were watching earlier. 

As for when these changes come, YouTube TV arrives today (July 8), and Hulu with Live TV integration will arrive in the following weeks. Sling's integration began earlier this year.

These aren't the first services to gain better placement in the Amazon Fire TV home screens. Philo, Pluto TV, and the ala carte Prime Video Channels have been promoted in these sections in the past. 

My long-term gripe about Amazon's own operating systems, both here and on its Fire tablets and Kindle e-readers, has been the dominance of Amazon's own services. If more services get bigger footholds in the Fire TV home screen, that will go a long way to making these streaming devices feel like they're a gateway to the entire streaming world, not just the sections of it that Amazon controls. 

Henry T. Casey
Henry T. Casey

Henry was a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.