Apple loses $1bn a year on streaming: Why don't its shows work?

Apple is reportedly losing $1 billion (€923 million) a year on its streaming service. As the last episode of the second season of its hit show ‘Severance’ airs this week, it’s a damning indictment of the tech firm’s Netflix competitor.

Two sources close to the company confirmed to The Information that the tech firm has spent $5 billion (€4.62 billion) a year on Apple TV+ since it launched in 2019.

Apple’s huge investment into the video streaming market hasn’t reaped a similarly sized subscriber base. Despite shows like ‘Severance’ and ‘Ted Lasso’, it lags significantly behind competitors Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+.

Netflix has the largest number of subscribers at just over 300 million. While Amazon Prime Video operates on a slightly different model, allowing non-subscribers access to individual titles to rent and buy, it’s estimated to have around 200 million subscribers. Disney+ also is estimated to have around 125 million subscribers.

Although Apple hasn’t officially revealed its subscriber count, as it doesn’t release it as an individual statistic separate from other services like Apple Pay, The Information reports it at a lowly 45 million subscribers.

Given Apple is one of the biggest companies on the planet, something is going disastrously wrong for the tech firm’s foray into video streaming content.

It’s not like they haven't heaped piles of cash on impressive shows. Chiefly, there’s ‘Severance’. The dark sci-fi series about office workers with split consciousnesses was nominated for 14 Emmys after its first season in 2022. The Ben Stiller-produced show returned to screens this year and has immediately been in contention for the prestige TV gongs alongside ‘The White Lotus’ and ‘Adolescence’.

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