Substack is making a controversial leap to the living room. The newsletter platform just launched a beta TV app for Apple TV and Google TV, letting subscribers watch video posts and livestreams from creators on the big screen. But the move is sparking fierce pushback from its core community, with top comments on the announcement demanding the company "elevate the written word" instead of chasing video. The launch marks Substack's most aggressive push yet into video territory dominated by YouTube and Patreon, and it's raising questions about whether the platform is abandoning the writers who built it.
Substack just declared war on the written word - or at least that's how its most loyal users see it. The newsletter platform announced Thursday it's launching a TV app for Apple TV and Google TV, bringing video posts and livestreams to the big screen. The beta app is available now to both free and paid subscribers, with access determined by subscription tier.
The app borrows heavily from the playbook that's dominated mobile attention for years. A TikTok-style "For You" row surfaces recommended videos from creators, alongside other discovery features meant to keep viewers scrolling. Substack says it plans to add paid content previews for free users, audio posts and read-alouds, enhanced search, in-app subscription upgrades, and dedicated creator channels where subscribers can binge all videos from a specific publisher.
"Substack is the home for the best long-form - work creators put real care into and subscribers choose to spend time with," the company wrote in its announcement post. "Now these thought-provoking videos and livestreams have a natural home on the TV, where subscribers can settle in for the extended viewing that great video deserves."
But the reception suggests Substack might have misjudged its audience. The top comment on the company's own blog post cuts straight to the tension: "Please don't do this. This is not YouTube. Elevate the written word." Another highly-voted response takes aim at the company's apparent identity crisis: "You guys have gone from saying Substack is the best home for longform writing/writers to 'Substack is the home for the best longform - work…'. I get trying to evolve, but this just seems like another venture capital-fueled idea."
