According to a recent report from Digiday, Apple might be preparing to introduce an ad-supported tier after holding talks with media agencies over TV ad inventory. Preliminary discussions point to ads showing up on the platform in early 2023.
Launched in November 2019 as a premium streaming competitor, Apple TV Plus has received numerous accolades and nominations for its big-budget high-quality original TV shows and movies. The single $4.99 per month tier gives access to 4K HDR programming and Dolby Atmos support for up to six additional people with Family Sharing, with no ads.
Despite reports of Netflix losing subscribers and Apple TV Plus gaining steam, the platform has the lowest market share of any streaming platform – roughly 5%.
According to sources familiar with the discussions, Apple is looking to introduce ad inventory to offset the cost of shows and new acquisitions like MLB Friday Night Baseball, MLS Soccer, and potentially NFL Sunday Ticket.
The sources say that Apple, spearheaded by Todd Teresi, Apple’s Vice President of Ad Platforms, has “an unusual approach” to how the company plans to sell ad time:
“One source said that a few months ago, Apple was talking about an ad sales approach that more closely resembled selling search than a traditional audience-based pitch that most TV sellers take to market,” says Digiday. “Their view, which they clearly articulated, is they don’t believe in clean rooms, they don’t believe in any use of data.”
Digiday says that the source will be holding a meeting with Teresi in November and mentions that “an ad-supported tier could come up then.”
Earlier this year, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reported that “inside the ads group, Teresi has talked up expanding the business significantly. It’s generating about $4 billion in revenue annually, and he wants to increase that to double digits. That means Apple needs to crank up its efforts.”
Do you feel an ad-supported tier is necessary? Would you upgrade to an ad-free tier of Apple TV+? Let us know below or on Twitter @Appleosophy.
