Apple’s forthcoming streaming service has a name, Apple TV+, and a slew of big-time stars, but the many of the important details are still secret…
Apple officially announced Apple TV Plus, a subscription service for its exclusive original shows and films, at a splashy event in March at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. After showering an estimated $2 billion across Hollywood for more than a year and trotting out some of Hollywood’s biggest stars and heavy hitters to sing its praises, Apple finally confirmed it plans to launch the Netflix competitor sometime in the fall offering original TV shows and movies.
Since then, the company has released teasers for two of its big originals: For All Mankind, a period piece from the creator of Battlestar Galactica that presents an alternative history in which Russian put the first person on the moon, and The Morning Show, a drama about a morning news broadcast starring Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell. Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, Jason Momoa and other big names are also on board.
But Apple has been silent about some of the most important details that future subscribers need to know. The company played coy on specifics including how much the Apple TV Plus will cost, how many programs will be available at launch and whether Apple will drop all episodes in a season all at once, a la Netflix.
Here’s what we actually know…
MacDailyNews Take: Some analysts, BTIG’s Rich Greenfield for example, think Apple will give its programming for free to owners of Apple devices.
We like that idea because it would be so thoroughly disruptive to the world of fake iPhone, pretend iPads, and cheapo cheeseball Apple TV knockoffs and streaming sticks.
If not – this is Apple, after all, and you may have noticed that they generally don’t like to give things away – there may at least be a free trial period. If so, that would either preclude the company from dropping entire seasons at once for binging or Apple could offer episode 1 of every series for free).
So, Apple TV+ could cost anywhere from $4.99 (seems too low) to $14.99 per month (seems high, but we’d probably pay it). $9.99 strikes us as a plausible monthly charge at launch, with potential discounts for families and students à la Apple Music.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]