Mike Peterson
The majority of Apple TV+ subscribers are currently on a free promotional trial and most don't plan to renew their subscriptions, a new survey claims.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, 62% of Apple TV+ users were on a promotional plan, according to MoffetNathan's Q4 SVOD Tracker report (via Variety). Those promotional plans have been given to buyers of new Apple products since Apple TV+ launched in 2019.
The data suggests that most users either don't plan to resubscribe when their trials end or are unsure if they will. According to the data, 30% said they plan to renew their subscriptions, 29% said they were not going to resubscribe, and the rest said they were unsure.
Those numbers lag behind Apple TV+ competitors like Disney+. The same survey indicated that only 16% of Disney+ subscribers were on a promotional plan. Among those, 48% said they were going to resubscribe and only 19% said they weren't.
According to Variety, one issue for Apple TV+ may be its lack of content compared to other platforms. The service offers a total of 55 originals, while other video-on-demand services offer thousands of titles.
Apple has yet to disclose Apple TV+ subscriber numbers.
Keeping Apple TV+ subscribers, however, appears to be a priority for the company. In October 2020, Apple extended its free trial to the end of February 2021. In January, Apple extended the trial to July.
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Wesley Hilliard
Malcolm Owen
Andrew Orr
William Gallagher
Sponsored Content
73 Comments
The tiny amount of stuff I have seen on Apple TV + seems to be very high quality, it's just not aimed at me - and that's fine. Apple is dumping a ton of money into film production, creating and sustaining jobs in the industry which is great, I genuinely wish them well.
I wish I had a better-formed view of the nature of the entertainment on it, that could certainly be my fault for not keeping up with it. I won't be subbing once my seemingly endless free period ends but I like that it's an option for some.
I'm a subscriber through the Apple One Plan - Family. While they have some interesting stuff, Apple needs about 2-3 more years to build a library worthy of dragging someone off of Netflix or Prime, of the cable-offerings popping up to stay relevant. The Apple One Plans are a great idea, but like those who are on Apple TV+ trial, I am thinking of ditching even the Plan because it offers Arcade. Sorry, for me, I left the Arcade after graduating high school. I don't need this feature. Let me choose News+ for example in exchange for Arcade, then, Apple, you can secure more "subscribers" to your services. Plan and simple (but then again it's not Steve's Apple any longer).
That’s their fault, not Apple’s. They offer something for everyone, and spare no expense for the quality. Most people have the attention span of a gnat so they don’t give themselves the time to actually explore how great of a service it is.
I wish Apple had started off by purchasing a catalog and then peppering in their original content until it became robust enough to be the primary draw. That's how all the successful streaming services did it, even the nascent Disney+, if you consider that hardly any of their catalog was created for D+ and they acquired some very popular catalogs to buoy their content position.
That isn't to say that Apple won't have something I won't ever put money down on a monthly or annual basis, it's simply not going to happen today and possibly not for a couple years due to how long it takes to build quality original content. How many decades was HBO creating their own content before signing on George R.R. Martin's best-selling book series? At least since the 1980s, and in the meantime they were airing the same re-run movie eight times day. I think Apple will eventually have a Jon Faverau create their own Mandalorian, but even that original story is supported by decades of Star Wars appeal that is not possible to create overnight.
AAPL down 15% after hours... this cannot be the reason...
EDIT - NVM - was a three minute glitch on all stock sites... back up... whew!