Apple has raised the subscription price of Apple TV to $14.99 a month for U.S. customers, effective August 28, marking the fourth rate increase for the streaming service in four years. The tech giant also bumped up the individual price of its Apple One bundle.
Americans streaming hit original programs will now pay a bit more each month. Apple implemented a price hike for its TV streaming service in the U.S., pushing the monthly subscription rate from $12.99 to $14.99 for new and existing subscribers. Existing subscribers will be notified approximately one month prior to being charged the new price, according to Apple.
At that time, the service offered a much more limited content selection with just a handful of titles as the company tried to amass customers. Today, the streamer features more than 300 original TV shows and movies.
Apple One Bundle Increases and Industry-Wide Rate Hikes
Alongside the standalone streaming increase, Apple altered the pricing for its multi-service package. The individual tier of the Apple One subscription bundle climbed from $19.95 to $21.95 per month. That bundled tier combines Apple TV with Apple Music, iCloud+ with 50 GB of storage, and Apple Arcade.
The adjustments follow a broader pattern across the entertainment industry. Major premium video-entertainment streamers, including Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, and YouTube Premium, have all raised their prices in some form in the last few years, with some putting hikes on ad-free streaming. NBCUniversal’s Peacock increased its rates earlier in August, and ESPN is raising streaming prices as of September 17. Apple TV remains the only major streaming service that doesn’t offer an ad-supported plan.
Catalog Growth and Revenue Impact for Apple’s Services Division
The platform’s library has expanded significantly to include prominent comedy series, dramas, and high-profile films. Popular titles include Ted Lasso, which returned for a fourth season in September, The Studio, Shrinking, and this year’s most-Emmy nominated freshman series Widow’s Bay. Apple TV dramas include the mind-bending thrillers Severance and Pluribus, as well as the award-winning The Morning Show. Additional performers mentioned by reviewers include Slow Horses, Your Friends & Neighbors, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Cape Fear, Silo, and Sugar. Original movies on the service include Oscar-winners CODA and the Brad Pitt-starrer F1: The Movie, the latter of which stands as the highest-grossing sports movie of all time at the global box office. In addition, the streamer’s customers can watch live sports including Formula 1 racing.
Apple executives said in July that Apple TV viewership hit an all-time high last quarter, though they do not break out subscriber numbers or financial figures for streaming. However, they have indicated the platform is a key driver of the tech giant’s services division, where revenue rose 12% to $30.7 billion for the June quarter. Apple reported a record June quarter with $109.4 billion in total revenue, which beat analysts’ estimates of $108.65 billion in the company’s final earnings report before CEO Tim Cook steps down on September 1. Slatestone Wealth chief market strategist Kenny Polcari analyzed Apple, Tim Cook’s final earnings report, and Amazon’s $250 billion AI investment on ‘Varney & Co.’
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