Photo Credit: Apple TV+
Apple is losing over $1 billion annually on its Apple TV+ streaming service, but Apple Music is still thriving.
Apple is burning over a billion dollars annually on Apple TV+, according to a new report from The Information this week. The company is typically very guarded about the performance of its services individually, sharing very few details on its quarterly earnings calls.
Like Apple Music and iCloud storage, Apple TV+ is lumped in together under the “Services” category on the company’s earnings reports. The sector has performed well overall, raking in $26.1 billion during Q4, up 14% year-over-year. But according to The Information, Apple’s Services are performing well despite Apple TV+ hemorrhaging money.
Apple has never shared its subscriber count publicly, but The Information says Apple TV+ had 45 million customers last year. This puts the service between Peacock (36 million subscribers) and Hulu (53 million subscribers), when comparing major streaming platforms.
Apple TV+, which is home to series like “Ted Lasso,” “Mythic Quest,” “Shrinking,” and “Severance,” may have actually increased its subscriber count recently. That’s due primarily to the success of the recently released Season 2 of “Severance.” Nielsen reported that Apple TV+ subscribers watched over 3 billion minutes of “Severance” since its second season return. That’s approximately one episode per subscriber, based on the numbers reported by The Information.
Meanwhile, Apple Music seems to be retaining a strong market share. Despite its individual numbers being held close to the chest, the success of the broader Services sector for Apple is going strong. That implies Apple Music is thriving, even if Apple TV+ is not. In fact, Apple Music’s market share is higher than many realize — sitting much closer to music streaming leader Spotify on the industry hierarchy.
Apple shares were up 0.75% on Thursday morning, hitting $216.78 per share. With a market cap of $3.26 trillion, it remains the most valuable company in the world.
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.