Apple is apparently forfeiting $1 billion (€923 million) annually with its streaming platform. The final episode of the second season for its popular series ‘
Severance
‘ premiering this week, it serves as a harsh criticism 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 inception in 2019.
Apple’s substantial investment in the video streaming sector hasn’t yielded a comparably large user base. Even with popular series such as ‘Severance’ and ‘
Ted Lasso
‘, it falls considerably short of its rivals 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 offering non-members the option to rent or purchase movies 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 official number of subscribers, stating they do not report this figure separately from their other services such as Apple Pay, The Information estimates it to be around 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 lavished substantial funds on top-notch productions. Primarily, there’s ‘Severance.’ This dark science fiction series, which revolves around office employees with divided psyches, garnered 14 Emmy nominations following its debut season in 2022. Produced by Ben Stiller, the show made a comeback this year and swiftly found itself competing for prestigious television awards along with ‘The White Lotus’ and ‘
Adolescence
’.
Likewise, Apple has achieved success with programs such as ‘Ted Lasso’, which is a cheerful football-themed sitcom, and ‘The Morning Show,’ a satirical take on morning news broadcasts. According to Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, the company’s exclusive content has garnered over 2,500 award nominations and secured 538 victories since its launch. This was stated back in January.
In terms of movies, Apple has also made significant strides. They have accomplished 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 Bloomed Moon
, Ridley Scott’s
Napoleon
, and Steve McQueen’s
Blitz
.
Despite all this spending, the subscriber count isn’t increasing. Apple sees its investments going straight to waste.
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” is an industry phrase used for programs that make such a significant cultural impact that they naturally turn into office chat topics 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 first series that has achieved a similar degree of cultural impact. Due to its intricately enigmatic storyline and perplexing cliffhangers, it competes earnestly each week for viewers’ attention.
This is the first time Apple has achieved this milestone. Many shows have shown potential for significant cultural impact but ultimately failed to resonate with audiences.
The platform launched ‘Disclaimer’ last year, marking the debut of an original TV series from the Academy Award-winning Mexican filmmaker.
Alfonso Cuarón
starring
Cate Blanchett
Given such an outstanding lineup, it’s no wonder the series made its debut at the Venice Film Festival. However, despite Blanchett’s efforts, ‘Disclaimer’ failed to escape the pile of underwhelming Apple productions.
Adaptations of popular novels such as ‘Lessons in Chemistry’, ‘Pachinko’, and ‘Shantaram’ failed to gain traction. Similarly, the sequel to ‘Band of Brothers,’ titled ‘Masters of the Air,’ did not boost viewership either. Conversely, Apple has upset many followers by canceling shows prematurely, for instance, the musical-comedy series ‘Schmigadoon!’ which only ran for two seasons—perhaps rename it ‘Into the Schmoods,’ you cowards.
Film figures
Just as streaming services are hesitant to disclose viewer numbers for their shows on television, it becomes challenging to assess the success of a film’s performance 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 approximate production cost of $215 million (€198.6 million).
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 the exceptional opportunity of being released not just on streaming services but also in theaters. These films only made their way to the online platforms several months after their initial theater run.
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 much excitement upon release, people stop talking about it shortly after. ‘Severance,’ recently confirmed for a third season, might bring some positive shift for Apple’s relatively recent entry into the streaming market. However, it’s still uncertain if their significant investment in this area will prove successful.
