Controversial Church of Scientology launches Apple TV app

Posting on Twitter that “it’s TIME for us to tell OUR story,” the Church of Scientology is launching its own TV network via an Apple TV app on Monday.

The networks app – called the Scientology Network or Scientology TV – appeared on the Apple TV App Store Saturday and as a universal app for tvOS and iOS Sunday, both as free downloads with no in-app purchases.

The organization, through its app description, plans on broadcasting a continuous live stream of content, but as of this writing, the stream is not working with an error message saying it is “unable to connect to the live stream.” A placeholder on their website says content will officially launch at 8 p.m. ET, Monday.

It also plans to offer on-demand playing of programs like Meet a Scientologist, Voices for Humanity, L. Ron Hubbard: In His Own Voice and various Scientology principles films. The app will allow users to create a free user profile to sync viewing history across multiple mobile devices.

With its Apple TV app live but its streaming feed not, the Scientology Network plans to also offer various on-demand programs when it goes live.

Programming for the channel is produced by Scientology Media Productions, which launched in May of 2016.

The network will also launch on the satellite provider DirecTV (to be on channel 320), Amazon’s Fire TV, on the streaming platform Roku and on Android devices.

The launch of Scientology TV comes at a contentious time following the high profile, 2015 documentary, Going Clear, and the A&E network series Scientology and the Aftermath, produced by actress and former church member Leah Remini.

The church, through its @ScientologyTV Twitter account, tweeted various posts Sunday leading up to the channel’s launch, with one image saying, “the only thing more interesting than what you’ve heard…is what you haven’t.” The comment seems to be targeting Remini’s TV series and the award-winning documentary without a direct reference.

The Apple app store already has three customer reviews of the app, with one of them giving it a five-star rating praising the videos, despite the fact they are not yet available.