Apple: Another Problem Becoming Evident
November 25, 2024
Apple is a beast in Big Tech with its cult of loyal devotees, technology advancement (especially in mobile devices), and Apple TV. Apple TV invested big money in developing original content for its streaming service and has garnered many accolades, but it’s a misnomer in the entertainment industry. Why? ArsTechnica has the lowdown on that: “Apple TV+ Spent $20B On Original Content. If Only People Actually Watched.”
Apple spent $20 billion to make a name for itself in the prominent streaming wars. While its original content shows have loyal followings, Nielsen says that its attracted only 0.3% of US eyeballs. Bloomberg wrote: “Apple TV+ generates less viewing in one month than Netflix does in one day.”
Ouch! Here are some numbers to support that statement:
“Apple doesn’t provide subscriber numbers for Apple TV+, but it’s estimated to have 25 million subscribers. That would make it one of the smallest mainstream streaming services. For comparison, Netflix has about 283 million, and Prime Video has over 200 million. Smaller services like Peacock (about 28 million) and Paramount+ (about 72 million) best Apple TV+’s subscriber count, too.”
Apple only has 259 shows compared to Netflix’s 18,000. Also Apple’s marketing efforts are minimal, but the company has used big names like Leonardo DiCaprio, Reese Witherspoon, Idris Elba, and Martin Scorsese. Here are some more numbers for comparisons sake:
“To put this into perspective, Apple spent $14.9 million on commercials for Apple TV+ in October 2019 versus $28.6 million on the iPhone, per iSpot.TV data cited by The New York Times. Online, Apple paid for 139 unique digital ads for Apple TV+ in October 2019 compared to 245 for the iPhone (about $1.7 million versus about $2.3 million), per data from advertising analytics platform Pathmatics cited by The Times.”
Apple plans to raise its viewership by licensing its content to foreign marketplaces and adopting more common streaming practices. These include bundling through Comcast and Amazon Prime Video.
Apple had smart intentions but its lackluster performance begs its intelligence in the entertainment department. Apple sure didn’t replicate the success Steve Jobs had by investing in Pixar.
Whitney Grace, November 25, 2024
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