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Apple TV+ has the highest-rated content of all streaming platforms

Apple had the highest overall IMDb content ratings among the top streaming platforms

An analysis of top streaming platforms and IMDb ratings reveals that Apple TV+ has the highest-rated content.

The analysis, conducted by financial planning company Self, shows that Apple TV+ had the highest IMDb scores for its titles, averaging 7.24. However, since Apple's service only offered 70 titles during the study, it falls behind in other categories based on per-dollar ratings or quantity.

The study "analyzed tens of thousands of TV shows, movies, and documentaries" from streaming services and their audience IMDb ratings to compile ratings. In addition to Apple TV+, the survey included Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu.

It noted that Apple TV+ "put most of its effort into dramas," with 47 of its 70 titles falling into that category. Apple's average drama rating suffers, though, at a 3.9 IMDb average. That average is last among the platforms, translating to a "Poor" rating.

Despite having the highest overall average, Apple didn't lead in average ratings for any particular genre. Its highest-rated category was Mystery. Apple's average rating in that category was 6.76, described as "Good."

When looking at 4K content only, Apple TV+ had the third-highest average audience ratings. Its 7.13 score for 4K programming followed Hulu (7.59) and Amazon Prime Video (7.29).

Tom Hanks in Greyhound, one of the original films on Apple TV+ Tom Hanks in Greyhound, one of the original films on Apple TV+

Apple TV+ also came in third in Family content with a 6.94 rating. HBO Max (6.99) led the way, followed closely by Hulu (6.97).

The survey's ratings apply to content available on March 23, 2021. It doesn't account for content that appeared or changed platforms after that date. The poll ignored content that requires an additional purchase.

Launching in November 2019, Apple TV+ came to life later than many of its competitors. Instead of licensing existing content, Apple focuses on creating original films and series. Popular shows and movies include comedy "Ted Lasso," the behind-the-scenes drama "The Morning Show," the Tom Hanks period drama "Greyhound," southern drama "Palmer," the Tom Holland vehicle "Cherry," and Billie Eilish documentary "The World's a Little Blurry."

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19 Comments

lkrupp 19 Years · 10521 comments

But, but, but Apple TV+ doesn’t have 25,000 1950s SciFi schlock movies like Amazon Prime does. It doesn’t have a back catalog of thousands of crappy B movies like Netflix. And it certainly does not have Nicolas Cage’s complete filmography of all the Oscar worthy dung he has starred in. But, but, but...Apple TV+ is a failure at 4.99/mo.

blackgts2002 14 Years · 8 comments

Not that surprising. People like free shit. 

CloudTalkin 5 Years · 916 comments

lkrupp said:
But, but, but Apple TV+ doesn’t have 25,000 1950s SciFi schlock movies like Amazon Prime does. It doesn’t have a back catalog of thousands of crappy B movies like Netflix. And it certainly does not have Nicolas Cage’s complete filmography of all the Oscar worthy dung he has starred in. But, but, but...Apple TV+ is a failure at 4.99/mo.

Looks like you posted before reading the actual article.  AI's misleading headline is not really indicative of the actual content of the article.  

The article implies that Apple has the least amount of success in the area where they focus the most amount of attention:

It noted that Apple TV+ "put most of its effort into dramas," with 47 of its 70 titles falling into that category. Apple's average drama rating suffers, though, at a 3.9 IMDb average. That average is last among the platforms, translating to a "Poor" rating.

An easy take from the article is Apple's reported push for quality programming seems to a decent strategy... overall, hence the better average IMDb rating for it's titles.  They also need to be more considerate of their drama selection since it seems the ROI in ratings doesn't seem to be paying good dividends.

AI included a link to the source article from Self.  It's an interesting read.  Excerpted from the source:

Key findings from IMDb genre analysis:

  • Netflix has the best game-show content out of all streaming services (6.75 IMDb rating)
  • HBO Max has the best documentaries, and has almost 300 of them (299)
  • Hulu has the highest-rated comedies (137) but Netflix (1,785), and HBO Max (1,252) have far more to choose from
  • Disney+ has the highest-rated sci-fi content, while Hulu takes the top spot for animations
  • HBO Max has half the number of horror content (171) compared to Netflix (359) but is on average better quality (6.21 v 5.19)
  • Apple TV+ has put most of its effort into dramas (47) but only averages 3.9 IMDb score per show.
  • HBO Max has the best sports content averaging 6.8 for each piece of content (Hulu has a high score but only 2 pieces of sports content)

Full IMDb category ratings per streaming service.  Highest rated service in bold.

GenresNetflixPrime VideoDisney+HuluHBO MaxApple TV+
Action6.393.356.246.906.966.38*
Adventure6.095.685.847.106.614.79*
Animation5.636.525.887.417.015.96
Biography6.704.646.827.057.435.69*
Comedy6.134.955.956.856.595.40
Crime6.375.836.226.706.761.67*
Documentary6.811.906.226.987.295.51
Drama6.375.415.856.966.923.92
Family5.903.935.966.92*6.735.17
Fantasy5.554.535.786.36*6.192.73*
Film-Noir7.07*7.40*N/A0.00*7.74*N/A
Game-Show6.754.37*4.93*5.10*5.44*N/A
History5.635.817.297.50*7.592.55*
Horror5.193.765.855.50*6.214.11*
Music5.954.534.476.51*6.443.98*
Musical4.244.576.548.20*6.342.44*
Mystery5.795.336.446.15*7.206.76*
News6.011.10*4.00*7.80*7.22*1.68*
Reality-TV6.023.134.657.03*6.525.09*
Romance6.315.026.267.15*5.044.25*
Sci-Fi4.634.106.486.63*6.282.94*
Short4.642.094.996.65*6.931.16*
Sport6.334.193.157.31*6.843.37*
Talk-Show5.042.732.90*7.05*4.32*2.48*
Thriller4.684.887.13*5.37*5.70N/A
War7.265.32*8.80*7.33*7.383.38*
Western5.864.206.30*6.80*7.09N/A

Apologies to all for length.

Appleish 8 Years · 717 comments

Not surprising. Apple TV+ has a high concentration of really good programming. The only other service that comes close is Disney+.

Beats 4 Years · 3073 comments

Can the “nothing to watch on Apple TV+” meme die now? Thanks.

Apple put over half of its production into dramas which had a bad rating. Their overall rating would have been much higher if they spread their productions evenly. Maybe this is a signal to Apple.