The Apple TV streaming service is well known for its quality shows and not necessarily its breadth of content. But it has a problem – Apple keeps increasing the price in the US and it’s now risen from $12.99 to $14.99. The annual price is now $119 instead of $99. Existing users will get notified ahead of the price rise.
Clearly this is strategic, but it’s the fourth Apple TV price increase in four years, and the subscription cost has now effectively tripled from its original $4.99 launch price in 2019 which is an exorbitant increase by any measure, though the launch price could never remain at such a low level.
Despite Apple not releasing subscriber numbers, Apple TV’s viewershp is on the rise, hitting a high last quarter. And that’s probably emboldened Apple to make the move to raise prices. And with successes ranging from Severance to Pluribus and the latest season of Ted Lasso underway, clearly Apple thinks now is the time.
Not happening everywhere
This strategy seems specific to some countries and not others – there are no hikes in Europe at present, for example, while some South American territories also appear to have had their prices increased. One aspect is that in the US Apple TV has expanded into several live sports including F1, MLS and MLB. And sports rights are naturally very expensive.
Even so, Apple seems to be testing what consumers will pay for a relatively small catalogue – we’re not seeing the same sort of rises for Apple Music, for example.
Naturally, users aren’t happy with the extra cost – on a Reddit post in r/apple subreddit, comments include “there isn’t enough content on Apple TV to justify this price” and “I didn’t have a problem paying under $10/mo for something like Netflix. I’ve canceled most of my subscriptions the past 2 years with all the price hikes”
Others say they flip between streaming services when they have watched the shows they want to. “I just switch between them when I rack up enough shows. People have been doing it for a while now but I think it’ll become the norm,” says one. Another agreed: “Same here, right now its Disney/Hulu. I’m considering swapping over to HBO for a month or two… Either way, I refuse to have a bunch of subscriptions running at once. Others even suggest pirating material.
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