Organizing smart TV apps and channels creates a more efficient and enjoyable viewing experience by reducing clutter and putting frequently used services front and center. The approach varies slightly by platform, but most modern smart TVs offer customizable home screens where you can rearrange, group, or prioritize apps and channels. Samsung, Android TV, and Roku systems provide built-in tools for moving apps, creating folders, and managing favorites lists, while streaming devices like Apple TV and Fire TV Stick offer similar functionality. The key is understanding your specific TV's interface and using its organizational features to match your viewing habits.

• Samsung Smart TVs allow app rearrangement by pressing and holding the select button, with options to move, remove, or add apps from the Smart Hub ^[2][3]
• Android TV users can customize channel rows and app placement through the Device Preferences menu, including hiding or reordering suggestions ^[6]
• Universal tips apply across platforms: prioritize paid subscriptions, use voice search for quick access, and consider external streaming devices for more flexibility ^[4][8]
• Channel organization on Samsung TVs includes creating personalized favorites lists and filtering TV guides to show only preferred channels ^[9]

Smart TV Organization Strategies

Rearranging and Managing Apps

Most smart TV platforms let you manually reposition apps on the home screen to prioritize what you use most. On Samsung Smart TVs, the process begins by accessing the home screen and highlighting the app you want to move. Press and hold the "Select" button on the remote, then choose "Move" from the menu that appears ^[2]. Use the directional buttons to navigate the app to its new location, then press "Select" again to drop it in place. This method works for both pre-installed apps like Netflix and user-installed apps like Disney+. Samsung's Smart Hub also allows you to remove app icons (though not uninstall pre-loaded apps) or add new ones from the full apps list ^[3]. For apps you rarely use, hiding them reduces visual clutter while keeping them accessible in the full apps menu.

Android TV takes a slightly different approach through its Customize Channels feature. To begin, navigate to the home screen, select "Settings" at the top, then choose "Device Preferences" followed by "Home screen" ^[6]. Here you can:

• Add or remove entire rows (channels) from the home screen
• Reorder rows by dragging them up or down in the list
• Hide suggested content rows if they’re not useful
• Manage which apps appear in the "Apps" row

The process is similar on Roku and Fire TV devices, where you can highlight an app, press the options button (often marked with three lines or an asterisk), and select "Move" to reposition it ^[8]. Fire TV Stick users can also create app groups by holding the select button on an app and choosing "Create group," which helps categorize similar services (e.g., all sports apps together).

For Apple TV, organization involves using the Siri Remote to click and hold an app icon until it jiggles, then dragging it to the desired spot—much like rearranging apps on an iPhone. Apple TV also supports folders: drag one app onto another to create a folder, then name it (e.g., "Kids" or "News") ^[8]. This folder system is particularly useful for households with diverse viewing preferences, as it keeps the home screen tidy while maintaining quick access to all apps.

Organizing Live TV Channels

For users who watch live television through antenna, cable, or streaming services, organizing channels is equally important. Samsung TVs offer a robust system for managing live TV channels, including the ability to create a personalized favorites list. To set this up, tune to a channel, press the "Menu" button on the remote, and select "Broadcast" followed by "Edit Channels" ^[9]. From here, you can:

• Mark channels as favorites by selecting them and choosing "Add to Favorites"
• Edit the favorites list to remove or reorder channels
• Lock or unlock channels to restrict access (useful for parental controls)
• Filter the TV guide to display only favorite channels, simplifying navigation

Newer Samsung models also allow you to restore deleted channels if you accidentally remove one, and some regions support adding radio stations to the favorites list alongside TV channels ^[9]. For users with many channels, this favorites system drastically reduces the time spent scrolling through unwanted content.

On Android TV, live channel organization integrates with the "Live" tab, where you can pin favorite channels to the top of the list. The process involves opening the Live tab, highlighting a channel, and selecting "Add to Favorites" from the options menu ^[6]. Android TV also supports channel grouping by source (e.g., separating YouTube TV channels from Pluto TV channels), though this feature depends on the specific streaming service’s app.

For streaming services with live TV (such as YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, or Sling TV), organization often happens within the app itself. Most services let you:

• Create a favorites list of channels that appears first in the guide
• Reorder channels manually within the app’s settings
• Hide channels you never watch (e.g., shopping networks or regional sports)
• Set up parental controls to block specific channels

A pro tip from streaming experts is to combine an indoor antenna with streaming services to access local channels without paying for them through a cable provider ^[4]. This hybrid approach often requires organizing channels across multiple inputs (e.g., HDMI 1 for streaming, "TV" input for antenna), but modern TVs like Samsung’s allow you to integrate antenna channels into the same guide as streaming apps, creating a unified experience.