If I download a app from my itunes account---will it show up on my apple tv??

Any compatible Apps you buy with the same Apple ID as the one being used on the Apple TV 4th gen, will appear in the Purchased Section of the Apple Tv App Store for you to to install, but won't automatically download to the Apple TV.

Redownload music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books from the iTunes Store, iBooks Store, and App Store - Apple Support

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Diana.McCall wrote:

Actually, on Apple TV 4, you can enable Settings > Apps > Automatically Install Apps. This works the same as in iOS. If you install a new app on another device, and the equivalent app exists for Apple TV, it will be automatically installed on Apple TV.

Interesting. This support document makes it clear it does not work like that:

Turn on Automatic Downloads for iTunes Store, App Store, and iBooks Store purchases - Apple Support

Apps don't download automatically to Apple TV (4th generation), but you can download or access past purchases from the iTunes Store or App Store on your device.

Maybe this has changed since April when the doc was last updated.

yeah the appletv has it's own app store on the device and the apps you see in iTunes on a computer will not show apple tv apps unless the maker has both an iPhone/ipad/ipod touch version and a appletv version

Actually, on Apple TV 4, you can enable Settings > Apps > Automatically Install Apps. This works the same as in iOS. If you install a new app on another device, and the equivalent app exists for Apple TV, it will be automatically installed on Apple TV.

Thank you for checking this. But, when I enable Settings > Apps > Automatically Install Apps, on Apple TV 4 with tvOS 10.2.2, the helpful prompt alongside says "Automatically install new app purchases (including free apps) made on other devices." Since the option and prompt are present, it seems reasonable to assume that it works as described. I believe this has been the case since tvOS 10 came out last year.

I just tested this, installing The Great Courses Plus on my iPad, and it magically appeared on Apple TV as well. So, it works as described. Maybe the documentation writers are uninformed.

The current Apple TV User Guide (tvOS 10.2 ) iBook includes the following:

“Turn on automatic app installation. If you download an app on an iPhone or iPad that also has an Apple TV version (known as a universal purchase app), the app can be automatically added to the Home screen of any Apple TV signed in to the same iTunes account. To turn on this feature, in Settings , go to Apps > Automatically Install Apps.”

Works as described.

Very likely they have not updated this to reflect the option.

Thanks for checking and making sure it works.😉