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If you use Apple TV+ in the UK, your experience will likely be marred by ads. Whether the cost benefits translate to users is a different affair altogether.
Apple, usually the archetype for premium experiences across devices, is likely pulling a cheapskate move. The company’s top brass was recently reported to have met with the Broadcaster’s Audience Research Board (Barb) to explore ads in its streaming service, Apple TV+, home to super hit TV shows such as Severance and Ted Lasso.
The reported objective of this meeting was to discuss ways to classify data on viewers’ streaming habits. This would allow Barb to refine audiences for ads to be shown to Apple TV+ users. The Telegraph notes Barb, collectively owned by BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Sky, already accesses data about the time spent watching different shows on the platform.
Apple’s move suggests a possibility of a new ad-supported tier—at least in the UK. Other streaming service providers, including Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Netflix, already offer such tiers for lower subscription prices than usual.
What’s the Reason: Plummeting Subscriber Growth or Upcoming Soccer Tournament?
Apple may have been inspired to take the plunge after it dropped from being the fastest in gaining new subscribers in Q4 2023 to number four in the tally. Meanwhile, Netflix recently reported a 37% year-on-year growth in subscriber count after adding an ad-supported plan — thought it could very well have to do with its aggressive crackdown on password sharing.
Alternatively, Apple could be propelled by the urge to maximize subscriber share as it seeks exclusive broadcast rights for a 2025 World Cup-style tournament in soccer, a venerated sport in the country.
In the UK, Apple currently offers a single paid tier, available for £8.99 (approximately $11.50) per month, which is already more expensive than the $9.99 pricing in the US. Apple offers more attractive pricing with the Apple One bundle, which brings 50GB of iCloud storage, Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade gaming service for £18.95 per month for one user and £24.95 for a family of up to five users.
Notably, other providers, especially Netflix, cap video quality to Full HD or even HD with cheaper plans instead of 4K. Whether Apple takes the same route—if it actually gets an ad-supported plan —is unclear at the moment. Whether Apple will even transfer these benefits to users or pocket the profits itself is unknown. We may look at Apple for more clarity during the iPhone 16 launch in the coming months.
Since the talks are seemingly in early stages, the nature of the ads is unknown. While Amazon Prime usually shows pre-roll ads, Netflix has both pre- and mid-roll ads that are usually unskippable. Whether Apple sticks to its posh ways or resorts to prioritizing profits over user experience will be time to tell.
