This Apple Offering Is Causing the Company to Lose Over $1 Billion a Year Apple can afford the loss — the company's Services division brought in $26.3 billion overall for Apple for the three months ending in January.
By Sherin Shibu Edited by Melissa Malamut
Key Takeaways
- Apple has spent more than $5 billion annually on Apple TV+ since it launched in 2019, per a new report.
- The streaming service is causing Apple to lose over $1 billion a year.
- Apple TV+ reportedly has 45 million subscribers.
Apple TV+, Apple's streaming service that scored 72 Emmy Award nominations and nine Golden Globe nominations last year, is reportedly costing the company billions of dollars.
According to a report from The Information on Thursday, Apple has spent more than $5 billion annually creating high-quality prestige TV shows like the World War II miniseries "Masters of the Air" and the hit science fiction show "Severance." The Information reported that despite Apple obtaining 45 million Apple TV+ subscribers, the company has lost more than $1 billion per year on the streaming service.
The news aligns with previous reports. Bloomberg noted last year that Apple spent more than $20 billion on original content from 2019 to 2024, but only attracted 0.2% of U.S. TV viewership overall.
Apple's 45 million subscribers lag behind the number racked up by competitors. Industry leader Netflix has over 300 million subscribers while Disney+ has nearly 125 million.
Apple also charges less for Apple TV+ compared to rivals. An ad-free subscription to Apple TV+ costs $9.99 per month compared to Netflix's lowest ad-free tier of $17.99 per month and Disney+'s lowest ad-free category of $15.99 per month. Apple tucks in Apple TV+ into other purchases, bundling three free months of Apple TV+ with the purchase of any Apple device and offering a free subscription to the streaming service with $5.99 per month Apple Music Student Plans.
Though a $1 billion loss may seem significant, it barely makes a dent in Apple's overall revenue. Apple TV+ falls under the company's Services division, which also houses Apple Music, Apple Fitness, Apple News+, Apple Arcade, Apple Books, and iCloud. The company's most recent earnings for the quarter ending in January show that Apple brought in $124.3 billion in revenue overall, with $26.3 billion coming from Services. For the full year of 2024, Services yielded $96 billion in revenue.
Since launching in November 2019, Apple shows have set themselves apart for their top-notch production and star-studded casts. For example, "The Morning Show" featured Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, and "Oprah's Book Club" starred Oprah Winfrey as the host.
The approach has resulted in critical acclaim, with the show "Ted Lasso" earning 11 Emmy Awards overall and the movie "Coda" being the first from a streaming service to take home an Oscar for best picture in 2022. Apple has established an extensive library of content, building over 80 original movies and 120 original shows from the ground up, including comedy shows like "Mythic Quest" and action-packed movies like "Wolfs."
Related: This Streaming Service Beat Netflix as the No. 1 One Market Leader in the U.S.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a post-earnings call in January that the streaming service had earned more than 2,500 award nominations and 538 wins since it began.
Apple is the most valuable company in the world at the time of writing, with a market cap of over $3.2 trillion.
