Apple TV+ has been around for almost two years now, and while the platform's catalog of original movies and TV shows has grown considerably, it's nowhere near as successful as its competition. In addition, the research company Digital TV Research reported that it will not improve much in the future either. But it is not so difficult to answer the question why.
Digital TV Research expects Apple TV+ to reach nearly 2026 million subscribers by the end of 36. This might not sound so bad if it wasn't for the outlook of the next 5 years and if the competitors weren't much better off. According to research published on The Hollywood Reporter it will have Disney+ at 284,2 million subscribers, Netflix at 270,7 million, Amazon Prime Video at 243,4 million, Chinese platform iQiyi at 76,8 million and HBO Max at 76,3 million subscribers.
In contrast to these numbers, Apple TV+'s 35,6 million subscribers is simply disappointing, not least because past survey revealed the current 20 million subscribers. However, many of them only use the platform within the free period that they received with the purchased Apple product, and therefore sooner or later they will probably leave it. As part of this promotion, he is giving it away for free for 3 months. Current share Apple platform so they are a measly 3% worldwide.
Inappropriate business plan
Apple's effort cannot be denied. Compared to a slower start in the early days of the platform's operation, it now brings more news every week. But the library itself still reads only around 70 original titles, which simply cannot be measured against the competition. The problem is that it relies only and only on its own original content, i.e. content that it produces itself. You don't pay a subscription here for the old tried and true hits that you can play on other networks, here you really only pay for what came directly from Apple.
And that's just not enough. We don't always want to watch a new episode of a series, or even a new series, but a genre that doesn't really interest us. You won't find any Friends, Game of Thrones or Sex and the City here. You won't find The Matrix or Jurassic Park here, because anything Apple didn't produce you can buy or rent for an additional fee within iTunes. There is a bit of confusion in this too. The platform attracts worldwide movie hits. Currently, for example, on Fast and Furious 9 or Space Jam, but these films are not produced by Apple and are available within the platform, but for an additional fee.
Road to damnation
Localization can also be an issue of possible failure. The available content has Czech subtitles, but the dubbing does not. In this respect, however, we could only talk about possible success in the country, i.e. on such a small pond that the viewership numbers here will certainly not tear Apple apart. If the prestige of having its own video streaming service, in which it offers only its own original content, is enough for Apple, that's ok. But already with Apple Arcade, the company understood that exclusivity does not go completely hand in hand with success, and among the originally unique titles created only for the platform, it released remastered digs normally available in the App Store or on Android.
Maybe it's just a matter of time before Apple TV+ understands this and makes the entire catalog available to subscribers as part of iTunes. At such a moment, it would be a fully competitive platform that would have the potential to really grow, and not just hoard and rely on a few original titles. Even if there are hundreds of them, it will still be few compared to the competition.
+ waiting for new episodes every week wtf it's like recording on video back in the day
And why are you waiting for them? Watch the series when they're all there.
Well, I do that too, but sometimes you don't even notice, you start a binge and then you just get pissed off.
Apple is trying, I was approached by the series See and recently also the series Nadace. I've gotten used to the subtitles and I'm happy for them at least. Amazon Prime with Czech is also not very good, but despite that I believe that things will get better.
TV+ is not a bad service at all. The content there is slowly increasing, that's true. On the other hand, all the content is in 4K, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, so if you have a really big OLED 4K TV with Dolby Vision - like me, then this service is absolutely unbeatable. Yes, Apple should buy a movie company, even if there aren't many left. At one point I thought they were going to buy MGM, but it ended up going to Amazon. And if not to buy, at least to negotiate with someone.
Apple has such profits from itunes movies that it can afford apple tv plus as a side product
What is so difficult about understanding that Apple provides a different form of service than others? Why is it so difficult to understand and why is there such a strong belief that he has to do it like everyone else? Sometimes I have the feeling that these articles are written by people who know about Apple in a completely different way. A normal person isn't capable of consuming all of ATV+'s production right now anyway without taking regular vacations to do so and it will be "worse".
Why do you want similar money for it, but don't give similar performance?
Similar money? Netflix costs CZK 320. It cannot be compared with HBO Go 1080p x 4k.. even with HBO MAX. and there again, HBO max costs twice as much.
The price for the service does not define its content. In addition, free for the first year and then 139/month. there is no other such offer from the competition.
Exactly. Either the author is less intelligent or, and I suspect him more, this is just a primitive clickbait article. Apple TV+ is a completely different service and truly unmatched in quality. A normal person doesn't watch ten hours a day just to be able to watch it.
I agree, for the money I have super resolution, original stuff, Dolby vision, and Tomáš Hanks
I don't know what you're playing here. The author of the article is of course right. For the money he wants, half of the library should be free. And not paying extra for every movie. And for B. you can watch everything on that TV+ in a month. And then what. And I'm not talking about quality. It is impossible to see Assimov's Foundation in such a way. And let all the actors be women, because what he did from the book and turned the men into women is just not visible.