The Morning Show Jennifer Aniston Reese Witherspoon
Apple’s flagship series The Morning Show opens on a phone call — an iPhone call, as you’d expect.
“Someone better be dead buddy,” mutters disgraced host Mitch Kessler, played by Steve Carell, as he is woken to news that he is at the centre of a sexual misconduct scandal.
The iPhone maker’s blockbuster first show, which also features Jennifer Anniston and Reese Witherspoon, unpacks the fast-paced, sleep-light industry of morning news with a #MeToo inspired plot.
Despite its star studded line-up it only enjoyed modest reviews. "The dialogue is clunkier than a misfiring moped, written with an ear not of tin but of stone," wrote one particularly harsh critic.
Rival streaming apps such as Disney+ and Netflix have seen skyrocketing demand during the pandemic. But one year after its launch last November, Apple TV Plus is still looking for its breakout hit.
With the release of the new iPhone 12 expected to prove a blockbuster for Apple, can it revive the fortunes of Apple TV Plus?
The £4.99-a-month launched on smartphones on November 1 last year, hailing a lineup of shows featuring Oprah Winfrey, Jason Momoa of Aquaman fame and Hailee Steinfeld in Dickinson.
Announced by Tim Cook in March 2019, Apple TV Plus is led by former Sony executives Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht and boasts a huge number of Hollywood veterans among its production staff.
But momentum has been slow burning. A Bloomberg report claimed the service had around 10 million subscribers as of February. An October report from analysts MoffettNathanson suggested around 10pc of US Netflix’s 75 million subscribers also had Apple TV Plus. Data from media analysts Amphere Analysis, shared with The Telegraph, puts the current global figure at around 35.8 million. Apple did not comment on the figures.
Apple’s tv+ catalogue pales in comparison to the established streaming giants
However, this is still some way off Disney Plus, which had 60 million subscribers as of this summer.
It also comes with the caveat that most Apple TV Plus subscribers are not paying anything extra, yet. Almost all users sign up to the service thanks to a one year free trial when buying a new iPhone.
“Launching into this space was always going to be hugely challenging, and indeed it has proven to be so,” says Dominic Sunnebo, a media analyst at Kantar. “In their first three months, Apple TV customers tend to be pretty happy. But after three months that drops rapidly.”
An Apple spokesperson said Apple had premiered more original hits and received more awards recognition than any other streaming app.
Dearth of content
While the pandemic has been kind to streaming apps such as Netflix and Disney Plus, it has presented a tougher challenge for Apple.
Almost all Apple TV Plus shows are originals, bought or produced bespoke for Apple itself. During the pandemic, filming schedules have been torn up, creating production delays and leading to a “dearth of new content,” according to MoffettNathanson analysts.
Apple’s commitment to producing original shows has also led to clashes over the direction of its programmes. In 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company had cancelled Vital Signs, a six episode biopic about rapper Dr Dre, over drug use and explicit sex scenes.
The Morning Show stared Steve Carell and Jennifer Aniston
Credit: Apple TV Plus
But the real challenge of its commitment to originals is that it leaves Apple at a standing start compared to Netflix, with its huge back catalogue, and Disney with its classic films.
Netflix has around 2,000 TV shows in the US, according to search engine Real Good shared with tech news site Protocol, while Apple TV Plus only has around 30, as of October.
Apple TV Plus subscribers quickly “exhaust all the content that is available to them,” says Kantar’s Sunnebo. According to Kantar’s estimates, this is causing consumers to switch off. Around 24pc of UK Apple TV Plus subscribers believe are planning to cancel their subscription, says Sunnebo, that compares to just 2pc of Netflix subscribers. Apple declined to comment on the figures.
In some markets, it can also be tricky to get Apple TV Plus to play on your TV set. The UK is a market dominated by TV models with Android TV built in, and streaming boxes that work with Apple TV are less popular than they are in the US. The problem is, Apple TV Plus does not yet work with almost all versions of Android TV. However, it will be coming to Microsoft’s new Xbox One X console.
Playing the long game
Yet there may be some reasons for Cook and co to remain optimistic. For one thing, Apple has a what seems like a limitless supply of cash to spend if it wants to, around $200bn. Apple TV Plus has already been earmarked for a reported $6bn in spending. According to Bloomberg, it even looked at a $600m bid for James Bond film No Time to Die, although owners MGM has said the film is not for sale to a streaming service.
The tech giant’s huge cash pile allows it to price Apple TV Plus very competitively. It is just £4.99 per month, versus Netflix, which is getting ever more expensive. Its cheapest UK plan is now £8.99.
Ted Lasso, a comedy about a football coach, has performed well
Credit: Apple
Its latest shows seem to be getting a better critical response than earlier attempts. Short TV shows, ideal for watching on an iPhone, such as feel-good comedy Ted Lasso, about an American Football coach dropped into the Premier League, have received some warm reviews, as has comedy Mythic Quest. On the Rocks, with Bill Murray, holds an 86pc rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Apple also has a new tactic to promote its TV app: subscription bundles. On October 30, Apple launched Apple One. The bundle allows users to take out Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple News Plus and extra iCloud storage from £14.95 per month.
Kantar’s Sunnebo points out the bundle is not so dissimilar to what is offered on Amazon Prime — which includes video, music and live sport.
“The comparison with Prime is a good one and not much talked about,” he says. “It is increasingly mirroring what Amazon has achieved huge success in.”
In its last results, Apple reported revenue in its Services division, which includes its TV, music and storage offerings, of $14.5bn.
Another advantage Apple TV Plus has over, say, Quibi, which collapsed after losing $1bn from Hollywood glitterati, is a long time horizon. And while subscriptions may not be mirroring Disney+, Apple may be more interested in how TV complements its hardware sales.
Brian Wieser, a media expert at GroupM, says: “There is a lot of unrealised potential. It is possible that a low volume of high quality content could work from them over time.”
He adds: “Not unlike with Amazon, video exists to support Prime, which exists to support recurring purchases. It doesn’t really matter how much it loses as long as it supports those other goals.”
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