Roger Fingas
Joining some other prominent companies, video streaming service Netflix is no longer allowing new customers to subscribe via iTunes — that is, by way of an in-app purchase on their iPhone or iPad.
The change actually began rolling out globally in late November, Netflix explained to VentureBeat on Friday. People who used the in-app option earlier will continue to be billed through iTunes, but once service is canceled for at least a month, they'll be forced to resubscribe on the Web and then log back into the iOS app.
The change was presumably made to avoid Apple's cut of in-app transactions. Apple normally takes 30 percent — this can shrink to 15 percent for long-term subscribers, but still means that subscription services must either lose a substantial amount of profit or increase their App Store pricing, which risks alienating customers.
One of the best-known examples of this problem was faced by Spotify, which for some time charged in-app Premium subscribers $3 extra. It eventually soured on the discrepancy and abandoned the in-app option.
Spotify has argued that App Store policies give Apple an unfair advantage, since a service like Apple Music is not only untouched by revenue sharing but integrated into every Apple device. Other critics have suggested that it's unfair for Apple to claim revenue from content it doesn't produce or host.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
83 Comments
I wish they'd also kill that video preview and that annoying, recently-added startup sound - or at least give users an option to disable them.
What's next - commercials for other same-service content at the beginning of each video like Amazon Prime Video added a while back?
Don't bite the Apple that feeds you.
This may be an early move is desperation due to Apples coming service.
I hope Apples service dominates like everything else Apple does. Couldn't care if Netflix became the next Nokia.
I have had DVDnetflix for a couple of years and tried to subscribe to Netflix (streaming) for my AppleTV through iTunes. It took some effort but finally got it set up earlier this year. But apparently the two services are separate and could not be combined as I had used iTunes setup. So I had to cancel the iTunes and set up through Netflix website then link the two accounts and now everything works perfectly.
Throughout that process the Netflix service reps kept telling me that they were really have problems with iTunes accounts and billing. So this announcement is not too much of a surprise.
As for Apple's streaming service - I'll believe it when I see it. These are very difficult to set up due to combination of digital rights, local station and sports services, and new compelling content. None of which Apple has much experience with as far as video goes (they obviously know the music business). I think it's going to be a long bumpy road for Apple.
Your issue is: I am trying to turn off the new startup sound when I open the app on my Apple TV, and also turn off the rating (i.e. TV-14, TV-MA) from appearing every time I play a title. Can you help me shut these off? If not can you submit a bug report / feature request to the team? Thank you.