For local government & city TV

Your city TV channel
on every streaming stick.
Without an RFP.

City council meetings, planning hearings, public-access programming, emergency briefings — native Apple TV, Roku, and Fire TV apps for your municipality. No developer, no agency, no six-figure RFP.

Used by city TV stations across the US · Multi-app accounts supported

Branded city TV apps running on Apple TV, Fire TV, and Roku

How city TV stations use Tappla

Four ways your
municipality uses Tappla.

Most cities start with one app for their primary Government Access channel, then add a second for Educational or Public Access programming. Tappla supports as many apps as your municipality runs.

City Council & public meetings

Stream council meetings, planning hearings, and budget discussions live. Archive the recordings so residents can watch on their schedule, on the big screen.

Government Access channel

Replace your aging cable PEG channel with native apps on every streaming stick your residents own — Apple TV, Roku, and Fire TV.

Educational / public-access

School board meetings, public-access community programs, civic education content — separate Showcases per channel, all under one branded city app.

Emergency communications

Press conferences, severe-weather updates, public safety briefings — live HLS stream URL takes home-screen prominence during a declared emergency.

Use what your city already has

No migration.
No new vendor.

Your city probably already pays for video hosting (Vimeo, a CDN, or an internal server) and a streaming encoder for live meetings. Tappla plugs into whatever you have — no IT-system overhaul, no procurement detour.

Vimeo

Already on Vimeo Pro / Premium?

One-click connection. Council meeting recordings auto-sync to your TV apps every 36-48 hours. Add Showcase per topic (council, planning, school board) — Tappla merges them with proper categorization.

JSON / MRSS Feed

Existing Roku Direct Publisher channel?

The same feed URL works. Tappla's Roku SDK builder generates a new native PKG under your existing Channel Store listing — your subscribers stay, your bookmarks stay.

Live HLS

Encoder streaming meetings?

Paste the public HLS stream URL. Live council meetings appear prominently on the app home screen during meeting hours; drop off when you stop streaming.

CDN / Custom

Hosted on your own server or city CDN?

Copy your video URLs into Tappla. We don't move your videos — they stay on your infrastructure, under your control.

Native, not a wrapper

Real native apps,
on your municipality's
Developer accounts.

Tappla generates real Roku SDK packages, real tvOS apps, and real Fire TV (Android) APKs — submitted through your city's Apple Developer and Roku Developer accounts. The App Store listing carries your municipality's legal name. You own the listings. If you ever switch providers, the apps stay yours.

What you don't need

An RFP. A six-figure
budget. A staff dev.

Custom municipal-TV-app projects from agencies start at $20K-$100K and stretch over 6+ months. Tappla replaces the agency, the developer, and the per-platform vendor — for $99/month per app.

× A six-figure RFP for native app development
× A staff developer or contracted agency
× A separate vendor per platform (one for Apple TV, one for Roku, one for Fire TV)
× A new IT system to learn — Tappla connects to your existing Vimeo / CDN
× A separate Apple Developer account if your IT department already has one
× A re-submission cycle every time you upload a new meeting recording

Recommended plan for cities

$99/month per app.
Multi-app cities billed
per app.

Apple TV, native Roku SDK channel, live HLS stream support, and ongoing Apple/Roku compliance updates — all included. No setup fees, no contract length, no per-platform pricing tricks.

Recommended

Premium

$99 /month per app

One app, all three platforms. Multi-app cities (Government + Educational + Public Access) get billed per app under one login.

Start free trial
  • Native Apple TV app
  • Native Roku SDK channel (via your Roku Developer account)
  • Fire TV (Android) APK
  • Live HLS stream from your encoder
  • Vimeo + CDN + JSON feed support
  • Multi-app account (multiple channels under one login)
  • Self-serve PKG download (you submit) or done-for-you submission
  • Ongoing Apple / Roku compliance updates included

Need a Master Services Agreement, W-9, or vendor onboarding form? Email us — we know the city procurement drill.

Used by city TV stations across the US

From single-channel municipal TV to multi-app cities running Government Access, Educational, and Public Access programming — local government communications teams ship native TV apps with Tappla.

FAQ for local government

Questions every
city IT team asks.

Our Apple Developer account has to go through the City Attorney's Office — does that slow us down?

+

It usually does, yes. Local-government Apple Developer Account enrollment typically takes 4-8 weeks because of procurement coordination (DUNS verification, City Attorney sign-off, IT approval). The good news: many cities discover their IT department already has an existing Apple Developer organization account from a previous app — that one can usually be reused for your TV apps. Tappla submits through whichever account you have. We can start the Roku build in parallel while your Apple Developer enrollment goes through.

We need invoices addressed to the city for our finance department — how does that work?

+

Every monthly charge generates a PDF invoice with your municipality's legal name, address, and tax-ID, emailed automatically to your billing contact. You can also download any past invoice from the dashboard. We're used to the multi-app, multi-department invoicing pattern — separate invoices per app are available if your finance team needs them by department.

Can we run multiple apps from one Tappla account? (Government Access + Educational + Public Access)

+

Yes. Many cities run a Government Access channel, an Educational/School Board channel, and sometimes a Public Access channel all under one Tappla login. Each app has its own branding, its own video sources, its own Apple App Store + Roku Channel Store listing — but billing and account management stay in one place.

Can we get the PKG file and submit to Roku ourselves instead of Tappla submitting?

+

Yes. By default Tappla submits through your Roku Developer Account, but if your IT department prefers to handle the upload to the Roku Channel Store, we hand you the signed PKG file and you upload it through the Roku Developer Dashboard. Your call.

We're replacing an existing Roku Direct Publisher channel — do we lose our subscribers?

+

No. Roku Direct Publisher was discontinued in January 2024, but the migration path keeps your existing channel ID and subscribers intact. Tappla generates a new SDK PKG that replaces your DP build under the same channel listing — viewers don't notice the migration, and you don't lose audience or App Store reviews.

Do we need to upload our city council meeting archive to a new platform?

+

No. Tappla connects to wherever your videos already live — Vimeo, your city's CDN, JSON / MRSS feed, or HLS stream URLs. We don't host video, we just package the apps and pull from your existing source.

How does live streaming work during a city council meeting?

+

You point Tappla at your existing live HLS stream URL — whether that's from your existing PEG-channel encoder, a streaming provider like Boxcast or BoxCast, or a CDN. The live stream appears prominently on the app home screen during meeting hours, then drops down once you stop streaming. The archived recording (uploaded to Vimeo or your CDN) appears in the on-demand list.

What about ADA compliance and closed captions?

+

Tappla passes through whatever captions your video source provides. If you're on Vimeo, captions you've uploaded there appear automatically in the TV apps. For HLS streams, Tappla supports CEA-608/708 captions baked into the stream. We can't generate captions for you — that's on your video pipeline — but we won't strip them out either.

How long does the full setup take from contract to live app?

+

Tappla's build is typically under a week. Roku Channel Store approval is usually 1-2 weeks. Apple App Store review is 1-2 weeks. The Apple Developer Account procurement (City Attorney + DUNS) is the long pole — budget 4-8 weeks for that if you don't already have one. Most cities go live on Roku and Fire TV in 3-4 weeks; Apple TV follows 2-6 weeks later.

What does it cost?

+

City TV deployments typically use the Premium plan ($99/month per app) — covers Apple TV, native Roku SDK channel, and live HLS stream support. Multi-app cities (Government + Educational + Public Access) get billed per app. No setup fees, no annual contract. Apple charges $99/year for the Developer Program; Roku Developer is free.