I like Apple News too, but $12.99 is way too much, especially when there are numerous adds in article I read. A lot of the content that is included in subscription, is free outside of Apple News+, so don’t get why Apple charges to access it. I get the newspapers and magazines.
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Report: TV+ Losing $1 Billion Annually as Apple Services Falter
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The Disney way is also not working.
I’m not surprised! There’s hardly any content and what is available you can binge on a free trial or subscribe for a couple of months! It also feels like most of their programming is drama and slower paced.
They’ve missed the boat and should have licensed as much big studio catalogues as possible so they can truly complete with Netflix etc.
I think they should offer HD tracks to purchase on iTunes as an alternative to Apple Music. Yes it will be niche but it would be a nice offer.. especially while the content is already on their servers to buy.
They’ve missed the boat and should have licensed as much big studio catalogues as possible so they can truly complete with Netflix etc.
I think they should offer HD tracks to purchase on iTunes as an alternative to Apple Music. Yes it will be niche but it would be a nice offer.. especially while the content is already on their servers to buy.
I would love a Books+ subscription of some kind instead of news and/or arcade and/or fitness. I use news and arcade, sort of. Never use fitness or Apple TV+.
most of Apple TV+ series are more than ok, high quality content. They already have a store with movies, just add few of them for free on a weekly rotation, and boom you have an immense catalogue of high quality movies. I don't understand why they don't rotate some of the itunes movie catalogue for free.
I don't understand why they don't strike some deals for PlutoTV type content/channels perhaps will fewer ADs (or none if paid ATV+ members)
PlutoTV is incredible on old content
Couple of observations.
1) The amount is likely an estimate by people who don’t work at Apple, and therefore inaccurate.
2) People fixate too much by treating TV+ as a standalone business, rather than think how it might impact the sales of other Apple products. For example, even if Apple Music isn’t profitable on its own, it could very well pay for itself via boosting sales of associated products such as HomePods, AirPods and Apple Watches.
It’s not so straightforward as to quantify the value of TV+ using dollars and cents alone.
1) The amount is likely an estimate by people who don’t work at Apple, and therefore inaccurate.
2) People fixate too much by treating TV+ as a standalone business, rather than think how it might impact the sales of other Apple products. For example, even if Apple Music isn’t profitable on its own, it could very well pay for itself via boosting sales of associated products such as HomePods, AirPods and Apple Watches.
It’s not so straightforward as to quantify the value of TV+ using dollars and cents alone.
Considering how closely tied Jobs was to disney, i'm pretty sure it would've happened if he was alive another 10 years.
Financially it would've been a great move too; disney quadroubled in the 10 years between 2010 and 2020.
But no, apple seems to have an unwritten rule against acquiring established large companies and prefer to do it themselves.
Why is Apple always trying to do better than the best by reinventing it?
Apple TV+ is hemorrhaging money amid a broader stall in Apple's services, according to a new report from The Information's Wayne Ma.
The paywalled report reveals that Apple TV+ is the only Apple subscription service that is not profitable. While its subscriptions grew to around 45 million last year, it is still losing more than $1 billion annually. The company has spent more than $5 billion a year on content since the service launched in 2019, but this was reduced by $500 million in 2024 in response to a push for cutbacks from Apple CEO Tim Cook and other executives.
Cook apparently raised questions last year about several movie deals with Apple TV+ executives, including for the spy action-comedy film "Argylle." The movie stars Henry Cavill and Dua Lipa, and cost $200 million to produce. Cook reportedly complained that the movie had not found a significant audience or generated more subscribers for Apple TV+.
The report explains that "the audience for Apple TV+ remains relatively small," constituting less than 1% of total U.S. streaming service viewing. Netflix and Amazon represented 8.2% and 3.5% of total viewing in February.
Apple's initial business plan for Apple TV+ predicted losses of between $15 billion and $20 billion over its first decade. While major losses are normal in the streaming industry, it represents a major departure for Apple which normally exercises fiscal discipline.
Executives such as Eddy Cue initially shielded Apple TV+ executives from budget scrutiny and rejected a proposal to increase oversight of programming costs. Apple did not have internal data on whether Apple TV+ would tempt customers to buy Apple devices.
Despite successes such as "CODA" winning an Oscar for best picture, Cook began closely scrutinizing Apple TV+'s financial performance from 2022 and advocated more oversight. The use of private jet travel for stars at the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars per flight came under particular scrutiny, and led Apple to ask executives to negotiate better deals with flight-chartering companies.
Apple's overall corporate profits are so significant that it can easily absorb the losses from its streaming service, but it continues to forgo widespread appeal.
Apple Music, Arcade, News+, and Fitness+
Services is Apple's fastest and most profitable category, with gross margins exceeding 75%, compared to just under 40% for hardware. In its most recent fiscal year, services revenue rose 13% to more than $96 billion. However, other than iCloud+, Apple's other services are said to be in poor health.
Apple Music's growth has reportedly virtually stopped and it remains "only marginally profitable." Since it pays artists and labels more than 70% of its revenues, it has a single-digit–percentage gross margin. Cue apparently told some colleagues privately that he doesn't believe the service will ever reach 100 million paying subscribers. Moreover, overall iTunes Store sales are now actively shrinking.
Apple News+, Fitness+ and Apple Arcade are said to be struggling with low usage and profits. Apple Arcade only had two million users during its first year of operation, with roughly 25% of them on free trials.
Similarly, Apple News+ purportedly suffers with low engagement and the number of monthly active users is in the low single-digit millions. Apple Books and Apple News+ was subject to layoffs in 2024 due to weak performance.
Longtime Apple services executive Peter Stern, who oversaw platforms including Apple TV+, abruptly departed the company in early 2023, claiming he was unable to run the streaming service in the way he needed to amid pressure to increase subscriber numbers. Apple subsequently reshuffled his former group, separating Apple TV+, Apple Music, and international content from News+, Fitness+, Apple Books, and iCloud+.
Apple One
The report adds that most users do not sign up directly for Apple's services, instead opting for an Apple One bundle, which inflates the perceived interest in each service. Many who sign up to Apple One are motivated to subscribe so primarily because of iCloud+ rather than other services. Without Apple One, Apple Arcade and Apple Fitness+ would not be profitable.
Article Link: Report: TV+ Losing $1 Billion Annually as Apple Services Falter
If they really want to be #1 in music, buy Spotify.
If they want to be the best in streaming, buy Netflix.
It would be profitable bussinesses.
I subscribe to iCloud, but only the 200gb level. I’d like more, but 2TB is way more than I need or want to pay for.
I’ve subscribed to AppleTV a couple of times to watch particular shows. Each time after a month I dropped it.
I’ve subscribed to AppleArcade four or five times, never stayed beyond a month or two. There simply isn’t that much there.
Fitness+, News+, AppleMusic, no interest whatsoever.
So AppleOne is a non starter for me.
I’ve subscribed to AppleTV a couple of times to watch particular shows. Each time after a month I dropped it.
I’ve subscribed to AppleArcade four or five times, never stayed beyond a month or two. There simply isn’t that much there.
Fitness+, News+, AppleMusic, no interest whatsoever.
So AppleOne is a non starter for me.
What have any of Jobs era execs since Steve passed? They were just lucky to have him.
They used to have a monthly movie collection, but it is not helpful to be the largest company in the world negotiating with incumbent studios who also operate competing platforms. That’s most of what the 500M cut came from.
I am tired of all streaming services if I am being transparent. I want good movies. Apple does have a few but I want MOVIES. Good movies with sequels. I am so tired of all the streaming services putting out shows. They only do this to keep you subscribed longer. We don't have time for shows and if we start one, we'll get a few episodes in over the course of a few days, if we're lucky and most of the time we just always fall back to wanting to watch a movie and forget about the show. I am subscribed and will continue to be. It makes sense for the family package. #1 change the name, I've seen a few comments to this with people promoting shows or movies to friends and family and their response is "I don't have an Apple TV". they don't understand its an app. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME TOO. Maybe better advertisements?? #2 - start creating MOVIES - the Gorge and Wolfes were amazing. #3 - organize the damn app better. It's jumbled and mixed and the navigation isn't my favorite. I have to scroll all the way down to get to genres. There's barely a movie / show divide, I prefer to sort by movies only. And last but not least, I am coming to the conclusion that it may be time for Tim Cook to step down. While the software has great improvements under his leadership, the lack of innovation from Apple is noticeable. Their product is still the best in my opinion. I'll never buy an android or PC but that's mainly related to the software, not hardware. Apple is behind in my opinion in that category. We need some fresh blood in Apple again, some excitement, like Steve Jobs.
Apple TV+ is hemorrhaging money amid a broader stall in Apple's services, according to a new report from The Information's Wayne Ma.
The paywalled report reveals that Apple TV+ is the only Apple subscription service that is not profitable. While its subscriptions grew to around 45 million last year, it is still losing more than $1 billion annually. The company has spent more than $5 billion a year on content since the service launched in 2019, but this was reduced by $500 million in 2024 in response to a push for cutbacks from Apple CEO Tim Cook and other executives.
Cook apparently raised questions last year about several movie deals with Apple TV+ executives, including for the spy action-comedy film "Argylle." The movie stars Henry Cavill and Dua Lipa, and cost $200 million to produce. Cook reportedly complained that the movie had not found a significant audience or generated more subscribers for Apple TV+.
The report explains that "the audience for Apple TV+ remains relatively small," constituting less than 1% of total U.S. streaming service viewing. Netflix and Amazon represented 8.2% and 3.5% of total viewing in February.
Apple's initial business plan for Apple TV+ predicted losses of between $15 billion and $20 billion over its first decade. While major losses are normal in the streaming industry, it represents a major departure for Apple which normally exercises fiscal discipline.
Executives such as Eddy Cue initially shielded Apple TV+ executives from budget scrutiny and rejected a proposal to increase oversight of programming costs. Apple did not have internal data on whether Apple TV+ would tempt customers to buy Apple devices.
Despite successes such as "CODA" winning an Oscar for best picture, Cook began closely scrutinizing Apple TV+'s financial performance from 2022 and advocated more oversight. The use of private jet travel for stars at the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars per flight came under particular scrutiny, and led Apple to ask executives to negotiate better deals with flight-chartering companies.
Apple's overall corporate profits are so significant that it can easily absorb the losses from its streaming service, but it continues to forgo widespread appeal.
Apple Music, Arcade, News+, and Fitness+
Services is Apple's fastest and most profitable category, with gross margins exceeding 75%, compared to just under 40% for hardware. In its most recent fiscal year, services revenue rose 13% to more than $96 billion. However, other than iCloud+, Apple's other services are said to be in poor health.
Apple Music's growth has reportedly virtually stopped and it remains "only marginally profitable." Since it pays artists and labels more than 70% of its revenues, it has a single-digit–percentage gross margin. Cue apparently told some colleagues privately that he doesn't believe the service will ever reach 100 million paying subscribers. Moreover, overall iTunes Store sales are now actively shrinking.
Apple News+, Fitness+ and Apple Arcade are said to be struggling with low usage and profits. Apple Arcade only had two million users during its first year of operation, with roughly 25% of them on free trials.
Similarly, Apple News+ purportedly suffers with low engagement and the number of monthly active users is in the low single-digit millions. Apple Books and Apple News+ was subject to layoffs in 2024 due to weak performance.
Longtime Apple services executive Peter Stern, who oversaw platforms including Apple TV+, abruptly departed the company in early 2023, claiming he was unable to run the streaming service in the way he needed to amid pressure to increase subscriber numbers. Apple subsequently reshuffled his former group, separating Apple TV+, Apple Music, and international content from News+, Fitness+, Apple Books, and iCloud+.
Apple One
The report adds that most users do not sign up directly for Apple's services, instead opting for an Apple One bundle, which inflates the perceived interest in each service. Many who sign up to Apple One are motivated to subscribe so primarily because of iCloud+ rather than other services. Without Apple One, Apple Arcade and Apple Fitness+ would not be profitable.
Article Link: Report: TV+ Losing $1 Billion Annually as Apple Services Falter
I wish Apple would have bought the Star Trek licensed it would have gained tens of millions of subscribers overnight.
I think that rather than to blame Apple, there is certain degree of oversaturation of various movie tv streaming platforms (add Hulu, Starz, HBO etc). So some will probably close. Apple can stay in the game as long as it wants, 1 billion of annual loss is peanuts for the company. Instead it may get close relations with main movie making platforms (sell them macs, apps, etc), may get publicity in more popular movies (read free ads), so I am not much worried about this. It is still probably much less than what Apple spends on ads in a year.
I don't think Apple buys popular IP with the intention of gaining subscribers. If Apple Music was any indicator, they purchase a fledgling service like Beats, then repurpose it for their needs and then focus on growing their user base organically.
It remains to be seen whether the lack of a back catalogue of old content is helping or hurting TV+. On one hand, it costs them less (since they don't need to license them), but it may also hurt retention because users are less likely to stick around once they are done watching a particular show (like Severance).
And I believe most streaming services are still not making money, except maybe Netflix, so that seems more like an indicator of how hard it is for this industry to succeed, and less about any sort of apparent mismanagement on Apple's part.
Yes. For such a big company with a number of smart employees, they certainly are idiots when it comes to naming services and products.
This is the big problem with Arcade. If Apple would invest even half as much in it as it does in TV+, it could be a much better service with both a larger and a higher quality library.
Some of the shows on TV+ are really good and some of them are bad. Also would like to see the subsequent season to be released at least in around 12 months time after the finale of the ongoing season.
Not sure when the next seasons of Sugar, Hijack or even Silo will release and of course there is no need to mention the situation with Severance.
Also agree that Apple One is the main reason why I have access to Arcade. Without Apple One, I will never subscribe or pay for Arcade. Apple should consider having News+ subscription in other countries too.
Not sure when the next seasons of Sugar, Hijack or even Silo will release and of course there is no need to mention the situation with Severance.
Also agree that Apple One is the main reason why I have access to Arcade. Without Apple One, I will never subscribe or pay for Arcade. Apple should consider having News+ subscription in other countries too.
Maybe, maybe not. But they really need to refocus. I enjoy some shows on AppleTV+, but I have not idea how it actually adds to the ecosystem and Apple customer experience. No way in hell does anyone watch a show on TV+ then decide that Apple is their choice for hardware purchases.
I subscribe to the individual Apple One plan. I use it to watch a few things on Apple TV (Severance, Mythic Quest, etc) and stream music from Apple Music. I used to use Apple Arcade, but bought a PS5 a year ago and haven' t touched Apple Arcade since. I've never launched the news app and my subscription doesn't include fitness, which I wouldn't use anyway. I've never used Spotify, but now that I'm working out regularly again and streaming music, it's stunning how bad Apple Music is. I enter an artist I like and create a station, it will give me music that's nothing like the artist I enjoy. It'll play the same songs over and over, I will dislike a song and it'll keep appearing. Liking a song seems to have zero impact. How does Frank Ocean continually come on over and over and over again on a station created the The Bleachers? They sound nothing alike. (Frank Ocean is TERRIBLE, by the way). Anyway, that entire service needs an overhaul.