Disney will soon hike the monthly subscription price of its streaming service almost 40%. When Disney+ first launched, it was one of the cheapest streaming streaming services. Not for much longer.
The company also increased the cost of Hulu and ESPN+.
Hulu today joined the list of third-party video streaming services that offer SharePlay support on iPhone and iPad.
Its latest app update gives viewers the ability to enjoy movies and TV shows with their friends over FaceTime while everyone stays in sync. It also adds the ability to easily switch between channels for Live TV users.
Apple TV+ garners 5% of the U.S. streaming video market, according to a company that follows the industry. While that makes Apple TV+ a small player, the service started 2021 with just a 3% share, so the year saw significant growth.
Its two largest rivals, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, saw drops in their shares of the streaming market in 2021.
Almost every video streaming service except Apple TV+ is selling your data to third-party companies and tracking your viewing habits for targeted ads. A new report from Common Sense Media exposes the loose privacy policies employed by most streaming providers, including Amazon and Netflix.
“Many viewers know that free streaming apps are most likely selling their personal information, but most viewers may not know that most paid sub‐ scription streaming apps are also selling users’ data,” warns the report.
A year and a half in, Apple TV+ remains something of a black box. Ever since the streaming video service’s launch in November 2019, Cupertino has refused to reveal hard data about just how well Apple TV+ is doing.
In some respects, the future looks promising. Apple TV+ continues to add high-profile projects to its production queue. Apple TV+ shows and movies continue to rack up awards. And upcoming originals like an epic sci-fi adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation and the second season of surprise hit Ted Lasso are generating buzz.
Plus, with the original one-year free trials ending — and new free Apple TV+ trials slashed to just three months — the $4.99-a-month streaming service seems increasingly confident about its value proposition for viewers.
Still, the Apple TV+ library continues to be dwarfed by rivals like Netflix and Disney+.
So what does the future hold? And what does “success” look like for Apple TV+ anyway? Cult of Mac asked the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a pseudonymous entertainment executive who writes about the business, how Apple TV+ is faring and what to expect next. His responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
Is your internet connection fit for video streaming? Or is your service provider throttling you every time you attempt to watch your favorite movies and TV shows? It’s now easy to find out with just your iPhone.
We’ll show you how.
Apple has hired a former executive who worked for shortform video service Quibi, in addition to Hulu and Disney, to work on growing its video-focused endeavors.
Spotted by the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, Tim Connolly recently updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect his job at Apple. It’s not evident exactly when he started working in the new role.
Apple TV+ has just a tiny fraction of the U.S. streaming video market, according to a market-research firm. Even nine months after its launch, it’s well behind well-established rivals like Netflix and even the other newcomer, Disney+.
If you thought life during COVID-19 lockdown seems awful, trust me — it’s got nothing on Gilead. That’s the fictional setting of The Handmaid’s Tale, a riveting dystopian TV show that’s racked up awards for Hulu since its 2017 debut on the streaming service.
I’ve burned my way through the first season, and I can’t take my eyes off this terrifying vision of a perverted future.
Apple TV+ won an accolade no one wants: it’s the streaming video service viewers are most likely to cancel once it stops being free.
Still, satisfaction with Apple’s offering is fairly high, according to survey results revealed on Friday. But people like almost all its competitors more.
