The living room is a tremendous place where your users consume content and have extended engagement in your app. If your apps meet the core app quality guidelines on Android devices and provide a high-quality experience for Android TV devices, your apps are surfaced on Google Play for easy discovery.
Prepare your app for distribution
Before you can distribute your app to Android TV users, you must first build and test your app to verify that it meets all of the Android TV app quality criteria. You must also upload your app to the Play Console and update your store listing with Android TV screenshots and other information. For general information about preparing for launch on Google Play, see the Launch Checklist.
Best practices for package names
If you have an existing app on the Google Play Store for Android mobile devices, you can continue to use the same package name for your Android TV app. We strongly recommend that you use the same package name for your Android mobile app and Android TV app for the following reasons:
- Doing so makes it easier for you to manage your store listings and releases for both apps. You can reuse your app description and other assets from your mobile app for your TV app. You can use a dedicated TV track to control the release of your TV app separately from your mobile app.
- If your app is built using adaptive app principles, or should you ever decide to do so in the future, using the same package name for both apps lets you update your app to support different form factors using a single app bundle.
Opt-in to Android TV and publish
After you build your release-ready app, upload it to the Play Console. Update your store listing with Android TV screenshots and set distribution options as needed. If you aren't familiar with how to prepare for launch on Google Play, see the Launch Checklist.
Before you publish to users, you must opt-in to Android TV from the Advanced Settings section of the Play Console. Opt-in means that you want your app to be made discoverable to Android TV users through Google Play, and that your app meets the criteria. Note that you must upload at least one Android TV screenshot before opting in for Android TV app quality review. You also need to mention Android TV in your app's store listing for your app to pass the review process.
After you opt-in and save changes, you can publish your app as usual. Google Play then submits your app for review against the criteria and notifies you of the result. To view the appoval status of your app, see Track your review and approval.
If your app meets the guidelines, Google Play makes it discoverable to Android TV users. Your app is also eligible for higher-visibility featuring in app collections and promotions.
Opt-in to Android TV in the Play Console by doing the following:
- Enable the Android TV form factor, as described in the following steps:
- In the All Applications page, click the app you want to opt-in.
- Under Setup, enter the Advanced Settings page.
- In the Form Factors tab, click Add Release Type.
- Select Android TV.
- Follow the instructions for opting into Android TV:
- Mention Android TV in the description of your app's store listing.
- Add Android TV screenshots to the app's store listing that comply with the screenshot requirements.
- Add an Android TV banner graphic to the app's store listing.
- Upload Android app bundle or APK files.
- Opt-in to Android TV and agree to the review policy.
- Click Start rollout.
Track your review and approval
If your app meets the technical and quality criteria for Android TV, as described above, your app will be made discoverable for users on Android TV devices. If your app doesn't meet the criteria, you'll receive a notification email sent to your developer account address with a summary of the areas that you need to address. When you've made the necessary adjustments, you can upload a new version of your app for review.
At any time, you can check the review and approval status of your app in the Play Console, under Android TV in the app's Pricing and Distribution page.
There are three approval states:
- Pending — Your app was sent for review and the review is not yet complete.
- Approved — Your app was reviewed and approved. The app will be made discoverable to Android TV users.
- Not approved — Your app was reviewed and not approved. Check the notification email for information about why the app was not approved. You can address any issues and opt-in and publish again to initiate another review.
To understand how your apps are evaluated, please see the Android TV app quality guidelines.