Apple is reportedly losing $1 billion each year, according to two sources familiar with the matter. They revealed that the company has been spending around $5 billion each year on content since the service launched in 2019 but has cut this back by $500 million last year.
It is not too uncommon for companies to bleed money establishing new services as they try to attract new customers. Often, companies hold the subscription costs down. Luckily for Apple, it is a highly profitable company, so its successes in other areas of its business can help it sustain losses as it tries to establish its streaming service.
For those unfamiliar with the offerings of Apple TV+, some of its most popular shows include Severance, Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, Shrinking, and Silo. Despite the spending Apple is doing on shows like these, the service is believed to be lagging well behind the competition, but Apple doesn’t publish the details of how many subscribers it has.
According to five analysts polled by Visible Alpha, Apple TV+ has around 40.4 million subscribers as of the end of 2024. That’s compared to Netflix which has 301.63 million subscribers, Disney+, which has 124.6 million subscribers, and Warner Bros Discovery, at 116.9 million.
The lower number of subscribers to Apple TV+ could be due to a few factors. Firstly, it is more deeply tied into the Apple ecosystem and requires an Apple device to perform certain actions, which could deter potential customers who do not own an Apple device. Secondly, Apple seems to be more focused on producing high-quality content, which doesn’t necessarily have as much popular appeal. Backing up this claim can be done when we see that Apple TV+ content has received more than 2,500 nominations and 538 wins.
Source: The Information via Reuters
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