MessageStage
Apple TV · Native App

MessageStage

Big messages, on your TV

Type or dictate a few words, pick how they should look, and they're up on the TV, big and clear enough to read from the sofa. There are thirteen ways to show a message, plus QR codes, your own photos, playlists, schedules and live control from your iPhone or iPad. You don't need an account or a subscription, and it works with the network turned off.

Coming soon to the
App Store Get support →
MessageStage on an Apple TV showing “Welcome! Scan to join the Wi-Fi” beside a scannable QR code

Apple TV · A welcome message with a scannable Wi-Fi code

The New Message screen: a large text field, one-tap look presets, display-mode presets and a live preview

Quick Compose: type, pick a look, Display Now

“Dinner on the terrace at sunset” displayed over a photograph with an automatic scrim keeping the text readable

Your own photo as the background

The template gallery with categories for Household, Events, Production, Classroom, Church & Community and Business

Sixty ready-made messages, all editable

A playlist running on the Apple TV with the on-screen overlay reading “Evening Rotation, 1 of 3”

A playlist running on its own all evening

Made to be read across a room

Lots of ways to put words on your TV

13
Thirteen display modes
Fit Screen, Marquee, Wander, Jump, Cards, News Ticker, Vertical Crawl, Word Flash, Typewriter, Lower Third, Teleprompter, Split Screen and Sequence
60
Sixty ready-made messages
Household, Events, Production, Classroom, Church & Community and Business. Pick one, change the words and put it on screen
QR
Scannable QR codes
A link, your Wi-Fi details or plain text next to the message, always with the margin it needs to scan
PHOTO
Your own photos
Send a picture from your iPhone to use as the background. An automatic scrim and contrast check keep the words readable
TIME
Clocks, timers and countdowns
Show the time, count down to an hour or say “back in fifteen minutes”, sized and placed as part of the message
PLAY
Playlists and schedules
Rotate messages for as long as you like, or show one at the times you choose while the app is open
iPHONE
Live control from iPhone or iPad
Type on your phone and it shows up on the TV. Pause, blank or lock the screen, or use Send to All to reach every Apple TV you own
FILE
Folders, tags and saved looks
Keep a big library organised, and move messages between devices as scene packages
CARE
Screen Care
Shifts a still message's position, colour and brightness over time, and keeps track of which parts of the screen it has used
A11Y
Built for everyone
Full VoiceOver labels, a Reduce Motion version of every mode, high-contrast presets and right-to-left text
●
Private by design
No account, nothing uploaded and no trackers. iCloud sync is optional and stays off until you turn it on
Compatibility

For Apple TV running tvOS 18 or later. Use the Siri Remote, dictation, or a paired iPhone or iPad. The optional MessageStage Companion app runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 18 or later and talks to the TV over your home network.The companion needs MessageStage 2.0 on the Apple TV and the Pro unlock, which you buy on the TV. Schedules only run while MessageStage is open on the Apple TV, because tvOS doesn't let an app turn the TV on or interrupt another app.

Free, with a one-time unlock

MessageStage is free for creating and showing messages, with Fit Screen, Marquee and Jump, up to twenty saved messages, a dozen templates, the core styles and basic Screen Care. There are no ads and no watermark. MessageStage Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. It adds the other display modes, unlimited saved messages, all sixty templates, the advanced style controls, timers and countdowns, QR codes, photo backgrounds, playlists and schedules, iPhone control and iCloud sync. It works with Family Sharing.The App Store shows the price in your own currency. Restore Purchases is in Settings, and you don't have to get past a paywall to reach it.

Screen Care

A bright image left still on a screen for hours can leave a mark. Screen Care shifts position, colour and brightness over time to cut down how long any one part of the screen stays lit. It can't guarantee that image retention or burn-in won't happen, and it doesn't change your TV's own settings.If you leave a message up for long stretches on an OLED or another panel that's prone to retention, follow the manufacturer's advice too.

Privacy

Nothing leaves your Apple TV unless you say so

MessageStage keeps your messages on your Apple TV. There's no account, no sign-in, no advertising, no analytics and no tracking, and the app works with the network turned off. It only makes the connections you switch on: an encrypted link to your own iPhone on your home network and, if you choose, sync through your own private iCloud storage. Its App Store privacy label is "Data Not Collected." Read the full privacy policy.