Apple TV+ is losing more than $1 billion a year due to heavy investment in content to compete with Netflix.
According to a report by The Information, Apple is spending about $4.5 billion a year on content projects on Apple TV+. With about 45 million subscribers, the company is still losing about $1 billion a year. Meanwhile, in the fourth quarter of 2024 alone, rival Netflix added 18.9 million new users and currently has more than 300 million registered accounts worldwide.
There is still a bright spot in the content business of "Apple" when Apple TV+, Apple Music, App Store services grew 14% compared to the same period last year, reaching 26.3 billion USD in the last quarter of 2024.
The loss of 1 billion USD does not make Apple too worried because the overall business situation is still positive. In the fiscal year ending in September 2024, the company announced revenue of 391 billion USD and net profit of 93.7 billion USD.
Apple TV+ is said to be still in the "money burning" phase to enrich content and attract new users. The service has many popular series such as Severance, Silo, Shrinking, Bad Sisters, Slow Horses, Palm Royale and Masters of the Air. Some have also won Emmy awards such as Ted Lasso or Oscars such as Killers of the Flower Moon, CODA.
Apple TV+ costs $9.99/month in the US and VND179,000/month in Vietnam. This is a rare streaming service that does not have a low-cost, ad-supported plan. Meanwhile, competitors like Netflix have the cheapest plan at around VND70,000 to watch on mobile to suit many users.
Apple's online service launched in November 2019, is currently available in more than 100 countries and territories. The company has a program to give the first three months free for new users who buy iPhones, iPads, MacBooks.