Cancelling Apple TV+? You May Be Offered This $5.99 Deal
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Apple is reportedly offering Apple TV+ subscribers who are looking to leave the service a greatly discounted two-month deal when they attempt to cancel their subscription. The offer comes after last week’s increase in the monthly Apple TV+ subscription fee from $9.99 to $12.99 per month.
If you attempt to cancel your Apple TV+ subscription, you’ll likely see a pop-up that will offer you a discounted subscription price of $5.99 per month for the next two months, amounting to a savings of 54 percent, according to a report by MacRumors. Once those two months are up, you will again be charged the $12.99 monthly subscription fee.
A few Redditors have reported seeing Apple offering the discount when they attempted to cancel their subscription over the last few days. Apple increased the monthly Apple TV+ subscription rate to $12.99 per month in the United States last week, which likely prompted an increase in service cancellations. Apple appears to have anticipated this, hence the discount program, which Apple hopes will slow the exodus of subscribers leaving due to the higher price.
A discounted subscription fee is a common way for streaming services, cellular providers, cable systems, and other optional subscription services to lure customers back to the fold, even when they are actively attempting to end their contract. I have personally seen similar offers when cancelling satellite radio and streaming subscriptions.
The monthly Apple TV+ subscription rate is now $12.99 per month for new subscribers — an increase of three bucks over the previous rate. However, current subscribers won’t see the increase until 30 days after their next renewal date. This marks the third rate increase since the launch of Apple TV+ in 2019.
At launch, Apple TV+ was offered for a low monthly fee of $4.99. The price rose to $6.99 per month in 2022 — an increase that Apple justified by saying the initial price was effectively introductory — and then to $9.99 per month in 2023.
Apple is not the only one to raise its subscription fees, as Disney+, which launched the same month as Apple TV+ in November 2019, has hiked its prices four times over the same period, as has Netflix.
Last week’s price hike doesn’t affect all Apple TV+ subscribers, as annual subscribers can still enjoy the streaming service’s content for $99 per year. The service is also included in Apple One bundles, all of which include Apple TV+, and Apple has not yet increased the price of those bundles.
From the start, one big handicap for Apple TV+ has been the size of its content library. While Apple has come a long way since 2019, its back catalog of shows and films pales in comparison to the libraries enjoyed by Disney+ and Netflix subscribers.
At launch, Apple had only a small number of shows and films available. However, over the past few years, Apple has added several well-received series, including Severance, Silo, Slow Horses, The Studio, and Foundation, that have added to its value. Apple TV+ subscribers will hopefully hang around for new seasons of the shows mentioned above, and especially for the return of Ted Lasso.
Keep in mind, if you are offered a discounted two-month subscription when attempting to cancel your Apple TV+ subscription, set a reminder to actually cancel your subscription before the two-month period expires. If you forget, the discounted subscription fee will expire in two months, and the price will revert to $12.99 per month.
