No Ad Tier for Apple TV 'At This Time,' According to Eddy Cue

[MacRumors]

Apple TV has "no plans" to launch an ad-supported streaming tier for the platform, according to Apple's head of services Eddy Cue, speaking in interview with Screen International.

Asked if there were plans for a tier with ads, Cue said: "Nothing at this time. Again, I don't want to say no forever, but there are no plans."

Cue added that if Apple TV can stay aggressive with its pricing, then it's better for consumers not to have their viewing experience interrupted by ads.

Apple TV cost just $4.99 per month in the U.S. when it launched in 2019, but the price has since increased three times. The price went up to $6.99 per month in 2022, and then to $9.99 per month in 2023, and now the service costs $12.99 per month.

Many other streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix have raised prices in recent years, but both rivals have also launched ad-supported plans as lower-priced tiers that have proven popular with customers.

Apple rolled out a rebrand of Apple TV+ earlier this month, dropping the "+" from the name to read just "Apple TV."

Article Link: No Ad Tier for Apple TV 'At This Time,' According to Eddy Cue

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

If you think about it, there already are ads because most characters conveniently own a Mac or an iPad - and everything goes to plan!

 

[SanderEvers]

If you think about it, there already are ads because most characters conveniently own a Mac or an iPad - and everything goes to plan!

Except the Villans. They aren't allowed to have Apple products.

 

[Plutonius]

No plans is usually corporate speak for probably but we don't know when .

 

[LittleChief]

Except the Villans. They aren't allowed to have Apple products.

Yup, such a funny rule! Those pesky villains would be a lot more successful if they were using the proper equipment!

 

[MacUserFella]

But ads on Apple Maps are acceptable apparently

 

[Agent007]

With the sheer number of shows on streaming is having an "anti-water cooler" effect. I grew up with 90's cable and, though we were past the age of "appointment television" there were still a lot of shows that "everyone" watched. There aren't many shows like that anymore. And there is SO much crap - HBO has like 10 different "True Crime" documentaries that are basically the same stories "marketed" in different ways so that case covered in American Monster was also covered in A Body In the Basement they just focused more on the body discovery in the second docu. lol total trash but mediocre TV can have a meditative quality - Law & Order reruns are like a white noise machine for some people (myself included at one time).

The Chair Company is very good. So far. But only one measely 35-minute episode per week like a weak morphine drip compared to the dope shot we're all used to with streaming.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

You'll have to make do with the ads in maps and the settings app on your phone for now.

 

[Agent007]

But ads on Apple Maps are acceptable apparently

They know it's a second-tier app so they figure they may as well get some ad revenue out of it.

 

[dugbug]

They know it's a second-tier app so they figure they may as well get some ad revenue out of it.

Maps gets massive use. Heck my entire family was using it this weekend.

Sure messages is probably the most with safari second, maps is not a second tier by any definition.

 

[LowKeyed]

I’ve always thought if the first world ever saw a genuine consumer revolt, it’d start with TV. It’s always been a horrible experience. We went from fiddling with rabbit ears to get “less crappy” reception, to juggling three remotes that never quite work, plus paying for cable (adding premium channels ala carte), then to paying monthly premiums for “ad-free” streaming. Now, even those premium services are bringing ads back. To be fair, this has always been a group failure of electronics manufacturers, coupled with delivery services, content creators, and of course it all being monitored/policed by people who don't understand any of it at any level.

Every stage comes with the same pitch: a step forward in experience, followed by a “small compromise” to make it more affordable. “Subscribe here, no ads!” becomes “accept a few ads, and we won’t raise your price too much.”

You have to give the industry credit, they’ve mastered the art of how slowly you can turn up the heat before people jump out of the pot.

What I can’t figure out is why governments obsess over things like default search engine menus while ignoring the fact that half the media industry appears to be colluding to normalize subscription inflation. Disney and Paramount didn’t even have to meet in a smoky room, they just both knew that as long as they all moved to "ad-supported" tiers, nobody would actually leave in significant numbers.

I have to give Apple credit (for the moment), for not adding the "ad-tier", yet. I'm not optimistic that it will last. Apple is in the business of business, which means making money. I think this is usually done by making products that consumer are willing to fork over cash for. But, I'm sure someone will do the math soon and realize how much more money they can make without it costing them consumers.

 

[imamacperson]

Math lesson: (12.99-4.99)/4.99 = 1.603 = 160% increase since it started !

 

[ifxf]

Doesn’t matter to me since I only take advantage of the service if I can get a few free months when buying an Apple product.

 

[Agent007]

Maps gets massive use. Heck my entire family was using it this weekend.

Sure messages is probably the most with safari second, maps is not a second tier by any definition.

I meant second-tier compared to Google Maps or other GPS software with a better reputation for reliability than Apple Maps (at least in Northeast US).

 

[dugbug]

I meant second-tier compared to Google Maps or other GPS software with a better reputation for reliability than Apple Maps (at least in Northeast US).

I don't know anyone that uses google maps any more unless they are on the web (android users aside). There is just no real reason to.

Anyone have a bad apple maps experience? it was rough the first two years but that was ages ago.

-d

 

[FyrStrike]

I don't like add tiers anyway. If it were free since the content is paid for by ad revenue, yeah, that's fair, I would'nt mind. But a company double dipping on both ends is nasty. 1. generating revenue from ads, then 2. asking people to pay a lower fee to watch adds. NO! I'd rather just pay the full service or stream with ads for free.

 

[Donkey Man]

Apple TV has "no plans" to launch an ad-supported streaming tier for the platform, according to Apple's head of services Eddy Cue, speaking in interview with Screen International.

Asked if there were plans for a tier with ads, Cue said: "Nothing at this time. Again, I don't want to say no forever, but there are no plans."

Cue added that if Apple TV can stay aggressive with its pricing, then it's better for consumers not to have their viewing experience interrupted by ads.

Apple TV cost just $4.99 per month in the U.S. when it launched in 2019, but the price has since increased three times. The price went up to $6.99 per month in 2022, and then to $9.99 per month in 2023, and now the service costs $12.99 per month.

Many other streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix have raised prices in recent years, but both rivals have also launched ad-supported plans as lower-priced tiers that have proven popular with customers.

Apple rolled out a rebrand of Apple TV+ earlier this month, dropping the "+" from the name to read just "Apple TV."

Article Link: No Ad Tier for Apple TV 'At This Time,' According to Eddy Cue

“At this time” being the key here - it’s surely coming; worry not.

 

[Donkey Man]

I don't know anyone that uses google maps any more unless they are on the web (android users aside). There is just no real reason to.

Anyone have a bad apple maps experience? it was rough the first two years but that was ages ago.

-d

I don’t know anyone who uses Apple Maps, myself included.

 

[sw1tcher]

Math lesson: (12.99-4.99)/4.99 = 1.603 = 160% increase since it started !

That's actually much more than Netflix and Hulu

Netflix standard plan : $12.99 (2019) to $17.99 (2025) = increase of 38.49%
Netflix premium plan : $15.99 (2019) to $24.99 (2025) = increase of 56.29%

Hulu Premium (no ads) : $11.99 (2019) to $18.99 (2025) = increase of 58.38%


While Disney+ increased percentage-wise more than Apple TV, Netflix, and Hulu

Disney+ Premium (no ads) : $6.99 (2019) to $!8.99 (2025) = 171.67% increase

 

[ridgero]

If you think about it, there already are ads because most characters conveniently own a Mac or an iPad - and everything goes to plan!

That's not an issue at all. At least they don't need to fake a stupid OS on the screens

 

[Xavier]

No plans is usually corporate speak for probably but we don't know when .

Yeah. Let's check back in a few months time.

 

[DougieS]

But ads on Apple Maps are acceptable apparently

Different proposition, it’s not like we’ve had to pay for Apple Maps, we have for Apple TV(+) since it launched.

Not that I’m advocating for ads in Maps, but it’s a whole different scenario.

 

[Craigwilliam]

Ad teirs come off as a bit of a scam to me, it's all a lazy effort to justify price hikes. I thought part of the point of paying for these streaming services was to get away from ads. If they are going to offer an "ad teir" it should be free.

 

[ridgero]

That's actually much more than Netflix and Hulu

Netflix standard plan : $12.99 (2019) to $17.99 (2025) = increase of 38.49%
Netflix premium plan : $15.99 (2019) to $24.99 (2025) = increase of 56.29%

Hulu Premium (no ads) : $11.99 (2019) to $18.99 (2025) = increase of 58.38%


While Disney+ increased percentage-wise more than Apple TV, Netflix, and Hulu

Disney+ Premium (no ads) : $6.99 (2019) to $!8.99 (2025) = 171.67% increase

The real problem with streaming services is that you have too many running at the same time. If you only ever have one streaming service running at a time, then it's peanuts!

I'm currently only using Netflix and paying 13.99 Euro per month. I can just about handle that.

 

[abatabia]

In other words: yes it’s coming. That way they can keep churning out the same type of series over and over: an insufferable lead has to deal with the fact that their entire world has changed and they have to adjust to it while finding out the cause why. They also need to keep churning out decent first seasons that drop off a cliff in the subsequent seasons.