Apple TV+ seemingly struggling against rival streaming services

Apple TV+: Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso
(Image credit: Apple TV+)

Apple might have announced bumper earnings this week, but it seems that Apple TV+ is yet to reach its full potential.

According to a new report by JustWatch (via 9to5Mac), Apple's answer to Netflix and Prime Video is stuck on 3 per cent market share, putting it well behind other major streaming services.

Netflix came top with a 28 per cent market share, followed by Prime Video with 20 per cent. Disney Plus was third with 14 per cent, Hulu was fourth with 13 per cent, HBO Max was fifth with 9 per cent and Peacock TV was sixth with 4 per cent.

As for growth, Netflix is currently down 3 per cent market share since the start of the year, while Disney+ has seen a steady rise in subscriptions throughout 2021. Apple TV+, meanwhile, has pretty much flatlined. 

And remember, until recently, Apple gave away Apple TV+ free for 12 months with the purchase of any Apple product (it's now offering PS5 owners six months of free Apple TV+).

So, why hasn't the streaming public embraced Apple TV+? One theory is that while Apple TV+ has come up with a handful of hit originals including Golden Globe-winning comedy Ted Lasso, it doesn't offer anywhere near as much choice as Netflix et al.

Still, it will be interesting to see how Apple TV+ fares in the second half of the year. It recently launched season two of Ted Lasso in addition to an ever-expanding line-up of originals that includes On the Rocks starring Bill Murray, the Bruce Springsteen documentary Bruce Springsteen's Letter to You and the upcoming sci-fi series Foundation.

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Tom is a journalist, copywriter and content designer based in the UK. He has written articles for T3, ShortList, The Sun, The Mail on Sunday, The Daily Telegraph, Elle Deco, The Sunday Times, Men's Health, Mr Porter, Oracle and many more (including What Hi-Fi?). His specialities include mobile technology, electric vehicles and video streaming.

  • A little obvious really. There’s not really a lot to watch. But what there is is amazing. Netflix very rarely have anything I’m interested in these day. A lot that has been released just recently has been very much a miss for me to the point I canceled the subscription. Apple is starting to pick up the content releases thoughts might change in a few years. And that just it. Netflix has years on Apple.
    Reply
  • kdbur
    What Hi-Fi? said:
    Apple has announced a huge $22 billion profit but it's streaming service is not even close to challenging Netflix or Prime Video.

    Apple TV+ seemingly struggling against rival streaming services : Read more
    I think they need to buy a couple of channels, with a lot of content, to sit alongside their meagre but generally very good, originals.

    Did Disney a lot of good when they bought up 'Star' with all the content it had with it.
    Reply