I managed to test this. I hooked up temporarily one of the Apple TVs to a Mikrotik switch and disabled the multicast traffic.
/interface bridge filter add action=drop chain=forward in-interface=ether1 packet-type=multicast
The live TV still worked. Then out of curiosity I hooked up my travel router and connected the Apple TV behind it to simulate his setup. The Live TV works without issue.
I’m surprised, but it follows the general shift in TV usage pattern. I barely watch live TV any more, with the exception of live sporting events and occasionally news programs. With generous recording allowance and replay feature, I feel no need for live TV. This already defeats the purpose of multicast. At his point I wonder how would TV-Box behave.
The user experience with blue TV app on Apple TV is comparable to TV-Box. There are slight differences, some things ATV does better and some things TV-Box does better. My wife prefers ATV while I prefer the TV-Box. Fire TV lags behind and from what I hear the apps on smart TVs are another step behind, although I don’t have personal experience with it.
I’m always for good discussion, as long as it remains civil. There is always opportunity to learn something.