Apple Exploring Ad-Supported Apple TV+ Plans
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Streaming services were once hailed as a refreshing departure from the ad-laden world of cable television networks, but sadly, that’s been changing recently as providers have found it hard to turn down the bags of money that advertisers are willing to pay to reach the eyeballs of price-conscious consumers.
Over the past year or so, nearly every major streaming provider has embraced advertising on its platform. While most companies thankfully haven’t eliminated their ad-free offerings entirely, the prices of those plans have gradually snuck up as more affordable options are eliminated to push users to the more lucrative advertising-based plans.
In some cases, these moves have been pretty blunt, like Netflix eliminating its Basic plan and then summarily turfing subscribers off it, forcing them to either pay more to maintain an ad-free experience or drop down to the ad-supported version. Then there was Amazon’s bold move of turning all existing plans into ad-support versions and making folks pay more to remove the ads — and get back higher-quality streaming.
Others like Disney+ and Max have been more subtle about it, but let’s not kid ourselves: the price increases have been limited to the ad-free plans, with executives often telling investors outright that the folks who don’t want ads aren’t paying their fare share to offset the money that’s rolling in from advertisers for all those on the cheaper ad-free plans.
So far, Apple has remained clear of this fray by avoiding ads entirely on Apple TV+. While limited ads have run during Major League Soccer (MLS) matches — even for MLS Season Pass subscribers — that’s technically a different service. Ads also feel less egregious during sporting events.
Unfortunately, that could soon change. Earlier this year, Apple hired Joseph Cady away from NBCUniversal to become its new Director of Advertising Platforms, and now it’s reportedly exploring advertising options in the UK.
According to The Telegraph, Apple executives recently met with Barb, the UK’s TV ratings body, “to discuss potential options for tracking adverts on Apple TV+.”
Barb is jointly owned by several major UK broadcasters and is responsible for providing official viewing data for TV programs in the country. As a result, it already monitors ratings and viewership for Apple TV+ programming, but it would reportedly need to “deploy additional data collection techniques to capture advertising.” Apple also had similar talks with related US agencies in 2022, but whether those went anywhere is unclear.
Several recent reports have suggested that Apple is reevaluating many of its strategies for Apple TV+ as it faces a drop-off in subscribers. Apple has followed other streaming services in raising prices over the past two years, and what was once priced at a very accessible $4.99 per month has since doubled to $9.99. That price has likely driven away quite a few subscribers, some of which might be enticed to return with a more affordable ad-supported plan.
To be fair, when Apple announced its first Apple TV+ price increase to $6.99 nearly two years ago, it was clear that the original $4.99 was a “very low price” intended to attract people to the service when it had little content. However, that was followed up by another $3 hike only a year later.
Since then, Apple has toyed with licensing older content and has reportedly been pursuing more deals with Hollywood studios to expand its library beyond “Apple Originals.”
According to several market research firms, Apple TV+ is now among the least-watched streaming services in the US. Last month, Bloomberg cited a MoffettNathanson report that revealed only 11% of US households subscribe to Apple TV+ compared to 55% on Netflix. Data from Antenna also showed that the two services are on nearly opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to the rate of cancellation — something that analysts ascribe to the difference in content libraries.
At the same time, Apple is also said to be tightening its purse strings, marking a sharp about-face from the early days when the iPhone maker seemed willing to give its shows seemingly limitless budgets. While some of its crown jewels, like The Morning Show, are still paying their leads astonishing salaries, others, including Severance and Foundation have been forced to cut spending. Some, such as The Big Door Prize have been summarily cancelled as Apple closes down some of its smaller production facilities, leaving that one ending with an unresolved cliffhanger.
