It’s said that Apple is losing approximately $1 billion (€923 million) annually with its streaming platform. The second season finale of their popular series ‘

Severance

‘ premiering this week, it serves as a harsh critique of the technology company’s rival to Netflix.

Two people with knowledge of the situation told The Information that the technology company has been spending approximately $5 billion (€4.62 billion) annually on Apple TV+ since its launch in 2019.

Apple’s significant investment in the video streaming sector hasn’t resulted in a comparably large user base. Even with popular series such as ‘Severance’ and ‘

Ted Lasso

‘, it falls considerably short of rivals like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+’.

Netflix boasts the highest subscriber count with more than 300 million members. In contrast, Amazon Prime Video follows a somewhat distinct approach by permitting non-members to rent and purchase specific movies or shows individually; this service reportedly has approximately 200 million subscribers. Similarly, Disney+ is believed to have about 125 million subscribers.

Even though Apple has not disclosed its specific number of subscribers publicly, integrating this figure with data for other services such as Apple Pay, The Information suggests that the count stands quite modestly at approximately 45 million subscribers.

Considering Apple is among the largest corporations globally, things seem to be going terribly awry with the company’s venture into video streaming services.

It’s not as though they haven’t showered substantial amounts of money on top-notch productions. Primarily, there’s ‘Severance.’ This dark science fiction series, which delves into office employees with divided psyches, garnered 14 Emmy nominations following its debut season in 2022. Produced by Ben Stiller, the show made a return to our screens this year and quickly found itself competing for prestigious television awards along with ‘The White Lotus’ and ‘

Adolescence

’.

Likewise, Apple has seen success with programs such as ‘Ted Lasso’, which is a cheerful football-themed show, and ‘The Morning Show’, a satirical take on television news broadcasts. According to Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, their exclusive content for Apple TV+ has garnered over 2,500 nomination mentions and secured 536 awards as of January.

In terms of movies, Apple has also made significant strides. They have reached their initial

Best Picture

emerge victorious at the Oscars with
CODA
It has since backed several renowned directors in crafting daring projects aimed at the awards season, such as Martin Scorsese’s.
Assassins of the Blooming Moon
, Ridley Scott’s
Napoleon
, and Steve McQueen’s
Blitz
.

Despite all this funding, the subscriber count isn’t increasing. Apple sees its investments going right down the drain.

Water cooler television

Much of the issue stems from Apple TV+ apparently lacking sufficient social status. Big-name celebrities join high-budget productions only for these shows to end up on the platform with inadequate promotion, failing to generate the level of buzz typically associated with an HBO launch.

“Water Cooler Television” refers to programs within the entertainment sector that make such a significant cultural impact that they naturally turn into office chatter worldwide the following day.

Classic instances of watercooler TV include the high-budget productions from the early 2000s such as ‘The Sopranos’, ‘Breaking Bad’ and more recently ‘Game of Thrones’.

Succession

‘. Over its many years of established fame and its consistent weekly programming, HBO has excelled at seizing the fleeting nature of a shared workplace conversation topic.

‘Severance’ marks Apple’s inaugural series that has attained a similar degree of cultural impact. Owing to its intricately enigmatic storyline and bewildering cliffhangers, every week it has emerged as a serious contender for viewers’ attention.

This marks the first time Apple has achieved this milestone. Many shows have shown potential for significant cultural impact but ultimately failed to resonate with audiences at all.

In the previous year, the platform launched ‘Disclaimer,’ which was the inaugural TV series from the Academy Award-winning Mexican filmmaker.

Alfonso Cuarón

starring

Cate Blanchett

Given this remarkable lineup, it’s not surprising that the show premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Nevertheless, even Blanchett was unable to rescue ‘Disclaimer’ from becoming just another disappointing addition to Apple’s lackluster series offerings.

Adaptations of well-loved novels such as ‘Lessons in Chemistry’, ‘Pachinko’, and ‘Shantaram’ failed to impress viewers. Similarly, ‘Masters of the Air,’ intended to be the follow-up to ‘Band of Brothers,’ did not manage to boost viewer numbers either. Conversely, Apple faced backlash from audiences for prematurely canceling shows like the musical-comedy series ‘Schmigadoon!’, which only ran for a brief two seasons—perhaps they should rename it to ‘Into the Schmoods,’ huh, Apple?

Film figures

Just as streaming services are hesitant to reveal viewer numbers for their shows, it’s challenging to measure the success of a platform’s movie releases, despite having access to box office statistics.

Assassins of the Flower Moon

For instance, it was commercially unsuccessful, earning $158.8 million (€146.7 million) globally compared to its approximately $215 million (€198.6 million) production cost.

Napoleon
, which also enjoyed a theatrical run in late 2023, reportedly generated about $221.4 million (€204.6 million), compared to its production cost of roughly $200 million (€184.5 million). Although trade publications calculated that it did not come close to covering its expenses, Apple maintained that the movie turned out to be profitable.

The two movies directed by acclaimed filmmakers had an unusual opportunity for streaming service productions as they received theatrical runs before being released on these platforms several months afterward.

Apple is also evidently not prepared to abandon its investment in high-cost movies. This year, we can expect the highly anticipated
F1
film from
Top Gun: Maverick
Director Joseph Kosinski, along with the latest movies from Guy Ritchie, Spike Lee, and Paul Greengrass.

Worries about how TV series affect culture aren’t exclusive to streamers. Repeatedly, when Netflix launches a new show with great excitement upon release, conversations around it often dwindle quickly afterward. However, ‘Severance,’ recently confirmed for a third season, might mark a turning point for this technology giant’s emerging streaming platform. Yet, it’s uncertain if Apple’s substantial investment in streaming services will prove successful.