The most common CTV deep link pattern: a user taps a deep link on their phone, and the content plays on the TV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Android, use the Cast SDK<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n TVs display QR codes that users scan with their phones. This is a deep link from the TV to the phone:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use cases:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Platforms like Apple TV and Android TV have universal search that can deep link into specific apps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The OAuth 2.0 Device Authorization Grant<\/a> (RFC 8628) is the standard for authenticating TV apps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The QR code URL is a deep link to your mobile app's activation screen, pre-filled with the device code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CTV content deep links should follow the same URL structure as your mobile and web apps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A companion app on the phone provides a second screen experience synced with TV content:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The deep link to start a companion session:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When something interesting happens on TV, send a deep link notification to the phone:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tolinku<\/a> manages the mobile-side deep link routing for CTV experiences. When a TV displays a QR code linking to a Tolinku-managed URL, the scanned link routes to the mobile app (if installed) or web fallback. Configure your routes in the Tolinku dashboard<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For QR code strategies, see QR codes and short links for mobile apps<\/a>. For the broader industry trends, see the future of mobile deep linking<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Implement deep linking for connected TV and streaming apps. Handle QR code-to-TV, second screen experiences, and cross-device deep links.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1559,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_title":"Deep Linking for Connected TV Apps","rank_math_description":"Implement deep linking for connected TV and streaming apps. Handle QR code-to-TV, second screen, and cross-device deep links.","rank_math_focus_keyword":"deep linking connected TV","rank_math_canonical_url":"","rank_math_facebook_title":"","rank_math_facebook_description":"","rank_math_facebook_image":"https:\/\/tolinku.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/og-deep-linking-connected-tv.png","rank_math_facebook_image_id":"","rank_math_twitter_title":"","rank_math_twitter_description":"","rank_math_twitter_image":"https:\/\/tolinku.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/og-deep-linking-connected-tv.png","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[425,341,20,69,48,426,294,427],"class_list":["post-1560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deep-linking","tag-connected-tv","tag-cross-device","tag-deep-linking","tag-mobile-development","tag-qr-codes","tag-second-screen","tag-streaming","tag-tvos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tolinku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tolinku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tolinku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tolinku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tolinku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1560"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/tolinku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2745,"href":"https:\/\/tolinku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1560\/revisions\/2745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tolinku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tolinku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tolinku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tolinku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Streaming](\"https:\/\/tolinku.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/connected-tv-streaming.jpeg\")
\nPhoto by Jakub Zerdzicki<\/a> on Pexels<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nCTV Deep Link Patterns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Phone-to-TV (Cast\/AirPlay)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\/\/ iOS: deep link opens content, user casts to Apple TV\nfunc handleDeepLink(_ url: URL) {\n let contentId = url.lastPathComponent\n\n \/\/ Load the content\n let player = AVPlayer(url: streamURL(for: contentId))\n\n \/\/ If an AirPlay device is connected, it plays there automatically\n player.allowsExternalPlayback = true\n player.play()\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nfun handleDeepLink(uri: Uri) {\n val contentId = uri.lastPathSegment ?: return\n\n \/\/ Check if a Cast device is available\n val castSession = CastContext.getSharedInstance(this)\n .sessionManager.currentCastSession\n\n if (castSession != null) {\n \/\/ Cast to connected TV\n val mediaInfo = MediaInfo.Builder(contentId)\n .setStreamType(MediaInfo.STREAM_TYPE_BUFFERED)\n .setContentUrl(getStreamUrl(contentId))\n .build()\n castSession.remoteMediaClient?.load(MediaLoadRequestData.Builder().setMediaInfo(mediaInfo).build())\n } else {\n \/\/ Play locally\n playLocally(contentId)\n }\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nTV-to-Phone (QR Codes)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
TV displays QR code \u2192 https:\/\/links.yourapp.com\/watch\/movie-123?from=tv&device=living-room\n \u2192 User scans with phone\n \u2192 Phone app opens (or web fallback)\n \u2192 User authenticates or takes action on phone\n \u2192 TV receives confirmation via websocket\/API\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n\n
TV-to-TV (Universal Search)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\/\/ tvOS: register for universal search results\nlet searchableItem = CSSearchableItem(\n uniqueIdentifier: "movie-123",\n domainIdentifier: "com.yourapp.movies",\n attributeSet: {\n let attrs = CSSearchableItemAttributeSet(contentType: .movie)\n attrs.title = "The Great Movie"\n attrs.contentDescription = "A compelling drama about..."\n attrs.genre = "Drama"\n attrs.contentURL = URL(string: "https:\/\/yourapp.com\/watch\/movie-123")\n return attrs\n }()\n)\nCSSearchableIndex.default().indexSearchableItems([searchableItem])\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nDevice Authentication via Deep Links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
OAuth Device Code Flow<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
1. TV app requests a device code from your auth server\n2. TV displays: "Go to https:\/\/yourapp.com\/activate and enter code: ABCD-1234"\n3. TV also displays a QR code encoding: https:\/\/yourapp.com\/activate?code=ABCD-1234\n4. User scans QR code with phone \u2192 deep link opens the activation page\n5. User logs in on phone and approves the device\n6. TV polls the auth server and receives an access token\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n\/\/ TV app: start device auth flow\nasync function startDeviceAuth() {\n const response = await fetch('https:\/\/api.yourapp.com\/device\/authorize', {\n method: 'POST',\n body: JSON.stringify({ client_id: 'tv-app' })\n });\n\n const { device_code, user_code, verification_uri, interval } = await response.json();\n\n \/\/ Display QR code and user code on TV\n displayQRCode(`${verification_uri}?code=${user_code}`);\n displayUserCode(user_code);\n\n \/\/ Poll for authorization\n pollForToken(device_code, interval);\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nContent Deep Links for CTV<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
URL Structure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\/watch\/{content-id} \u2192 play specific content\n\/series\/{series-id} \u2192 series detail page\n\/series\/{series-id}\/s{n}\/e{m} \u2192 specific episode\n\/live\/{channel-id} \u2192 live channel\n\/search?q={query} \u2192 search results\n\/profile\/{profile-id} \u2192 user profile\/watchlist\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nHandling Deep Links on tvOS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\/\/ tvOS AppDelegate\nfunc application(_ application: UIApplication,\n continue userActivity: NSUserActivity,\n restorationHandler: @escaping ([UIUserActivityRestoring]?) -> Void) -> Bool {\n guard let url = userActivity.webpageURL else { return false }\n\n let path = url.pathComponents\n\n if path.contains("watch"), let contentId = path.last {\n playContent(contentId)\n return true\n }\n\n if path.contains("series"), path.count >= 3 {\n let seriesId = path[2]\n showSeriesDetail(seriesId)\n return true\n }\n\n return false\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nHandling Deep Links on Android TV<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
class TVMainActivity : FragmentActivity() {\n override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {\n super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)\n\n val uri = intent.data\n if (uri != null) {\n when {\n uri.path?.startsWith("\/watch\/") == true -> {\n val contentId = uri.lastPathSegment\n playContent(contentId)\n }\n uri.path?.startsWith("\/series\/") == true -> {\n val seriesId = uri.pathSegments.getOrNull(1)\n showSeriesDetail(seriesId)\n }\n }\n }\n }\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nSecond Screen Experiences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Companion App Integration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\/\/ Phone companion app: sync with TV playback\nclass CompanionSync {\n constructor(tvSessionId) {\n this.ws = new WebSocket(`wss:\/\/api.yourapp.com\/companion\/${tvSessionId}`);\n\n this.ws.onmessage = (event) => {\n const data = JSON.parse(event.data);\n switch (data.type) {\n case 'playback_update':\n this.showContextualContent(data.contentId, data.timestamp);\n break;\n case 'scene_change':\n this.showSceneInfo(data.sceneData);\n break;\n case 'interactive_moment':\n this.showPoll(data.pollData);\n break;\n }\n };\n }\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nhttps:\/\/links.yourapp.com\/companion?session=abc123&content=movie-456\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nPush Notifications to Phone<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\/\/ Server: send companion notification\nasync function notifyCompanion(userId, contentId, action) {\n await pushService.send(userId, {\n title: "Now Playing: The Great Movie",\n body: "Tap to see behind-the-scenes content",\n data: {\n deepLink: `https:\/\/links.yourapp.com\/companion\/${contentId}?action=${action}`\n }\n });\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nTolinku for CTV Deep Links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n