A popular streaming service known for hit shows like Severance and Ted Lasso could be on the verge of shutting down.
The Apple TV+ premium subscription service is losing over $1 billion per year, according to report published on March 20 by The Information.
Some of the losses come from the billions of dollars Apple spends every year on the streaming platform’s content.
The tech company had spent over $5 billion a year since its 2019 launch until last year after it slashed the budget by $500 million.
Despite the loss, the streaming service welcomed around 45 million new subscribers to the platform last year.
However, the streaming platform’s content has low audience numbers, and the Nielsen media measurement firm found discovered that Apple TV+ has less than 1 percent of monthly viewership on connected televisions in the US.
The streaming service also offers little content compared to Netflix and Amazon, which represented 8.2 and 3.5 percent of US viewership in February.
Apple TV+ is reportedly losing over $1 billion a year. The money spent in creating its content is a factor in the loss
Apple TV+ welcomed around 45 million new subscribers to the streaming service in 2024
Apple is known for making pricey content fans can watch on its streaming platform for $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year.
Analysts also believe Apple has not done much to make sure it stands out from other services.
‘Apple has a reputation of being a disrupter with its hardware and App Store, but I don’t see its core value here,’ Horace Dediu, founder at market analysis firm Asymco, told The Information.
‘Picking winners and losers is not what the company is known for.’
The tech empire had already been successful financially long before Apple TV+, and it recently made $391 billion in annual revenue for its fiscal 2024 year.
Its streaming business is a big part of the company, and accounts for 21 percent of Apple’s total revenue.
By the end of 2024, its streaming business racked in $26.3 billion, which is a 14 percent increase compared to that time last year.
However, experts predict that Apple TV+ is predicted to lose $15 billion to $20 billion during its first 10 years.
Apple TV+ launched in 2019. Users can access the streaming service for $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year
Apple will not be the only major company to shut down a streaming service if it decides to pull the plug on Apple TV+.
Google had attempted to make scripted and unscripted originals for YouTube, including Cobra Kai.
This venture fizzled out in 2022, and Cobra Kai would go on to be one of the biggest shows on Netflix.
Amazon also made headlines last year after announcing it would shut down its ad-free supported video streaming service Freevee.
‘To deliver a simpler viewing experience for customers, we have decided to phase out Freevee branding,’ an Amazon spokesperson confirmed to Variety last year.
Other streaming services that bit the dust include Quibi, FilmStruck, and Funimation.
Daily Mail has reached out to Apple for comment.
