Apple has spent over $20 billion on Apple TV+ to get 0.3 percent of U.S. screen viewing time

Apple TV+, launched in 2019, has invested over $20 billion to create a robust library of original content featuring renowned actors and directors. However, despite this significant investment, Apple TV+ captured 0.3% of U.S. screen viewing time in June 2024, according to Nielsen data. So, clearly, while the platform offers high-quality content, it’s struggled to attract a significant audience share in the competitive streaming market.

Scharon Harding for Ars Technica:
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In July, Bloomberg aptly underscored how minimally competitive Apple TV+ is, writing: “Apple TV+ generates less viewing in one month than Netflix does in one day.”

Apple doesn’t provide subscriber numbers for Apple TV+, but it’s estimated to have 25 million subscribers. That would make it one of the smallest mainstream streaming services. For comparison, Netflix has about 283 million, and Prime Video has over 200 million. Smaller services like Peacock (about 28 million) and Paramount+ (about 72 million) best Apple TV+’s subscriber count, too…

[W]ith Apple TV+’s content slate being buoyed by big Hollywood names, from Reese Witherspoon and Idris Elba to Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese, there’s an argument that Apple TV+ has made such a small impact on streamers due to Apple’s limited marketing efforts. To put this into perspective, Apple spent $14.9 million on commercials for Apple TV+ in October 2019 versus $28.6 million on the iPhone, per iSpot.TV data.

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MacDailyNews Take: Launch that ad-supported tier already, Apple!

“Hearing from a little birdie that Apple is planning to launch an ad-supported version of its Apple TV+ streaming-video platform.” – MacDailyNews, August 4, 2022

Hearing from a little birdie that Apple is planning to launch an ad-supported version of its Apple TV+ streaming-video platform. pic.twitter.com/tfbt7JyMLs

— MacDailyNews (@MacDailyNews) August 4, 2022

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