Popular Streaming Service Faces Axing Amid $1 Billion Losses and Poor Ratings

A widely-used streaming platform recognized for its acclaimed series such as Severance and Ted Lasso might be close to closing down.

The Apple TV+ high-end subscription service reportedly incurs annual losses exceeding $1 billion, as stated in a report released on March 20. The Information .

A portion of these losses stems from the billions of dollars Apple invests annually in producing content for the streaming service.

Since its debut in 2019, the technology firm has been investing more than $5 billion annually until last year when they reduced their spending by half a billion dollars.

Even with the setback, the streaming service attracted approximately 45 million new subscribers to their platform over the past year.

Nevertheless, the streaming service's offerings have attracted few audiences, with Nielsen, the media tracking company, reporting that Apple TV+ accounts for under 1% of monthly views on smart TVs within the United States.

The streaming platform similarly provides limited content when compared to Netflix and Amazon , accounting for 8.2% and 3.5% of the total US viewership in February.

Apple offers expensive material that viewers can access through its streaming service for $9.99 per month or $99.99 annually.

Experts also think that Apple hasn't put significant effort into ensuring it distinguishes itself from competing services.

"Apple is known for disrupting the industry through its hardware and App Store, yet I fail to recognize its primary worth in this aspect," stated Horace Dediu, the founder of market analysis company Asymco, to The Information.

'The company isn’t recognized for choosing favorites among winners and losers.'

The technology giant had achieved financial success well before launching Apple TV+. In their fiscal year 2024, they reported an annual revenue of $391 billion.

The streaming division constitutes a significant portion of the company, contributing 21 percent to Apple's overall income.

By the close of 2024, their streaming division generated $26.3 billion, marking a 14 percent rise from the previous year at this same point.

Nevertheless, experts forecast that Apple TV+ may incur losses of between $15 billion and $20 billion over its initial ten-year period.

If Apple chooses to discontinue Apple TV+, it won’t be the first big corporation to close down a streaming platform.

Google had tried to produce both scripted and unscripted original content for YouTube, such as Cobra Kai.

This endeavor failed in 2022, and Cobra Kai subsequently became one of the most popular series on Netflix.

Last year, Amazon garnered significant attention when it declared the discontinuation of its advertisement-free video streaming service known as Freevee.

"To provide a more streamlined viewing experience for our customers, we have chosen to discontinue the Freevee brand," an Amazon representative told Variety recently.

Other streaming services that bit the dust include Quibi, FilmStruck, and Funimation.

Daily Mail has reached out to Apple for comment.

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