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Image: Apple; Mackenzie Marco/Unsplash
Apple announced Thursday that it’s hiking the price of a monthly subscription for its Apple TV+ streaming service by $3 (R53,22), to $12.99 (R230,43).
Apple TV+ currently costs R124.99 in South Africa.
This latest increase, the company’s third in three years, means subscribers will now pay nearly double the amount to stream popular TV shows like Severance or The Studio as they did as recently as October 2023.
Though Apple is moving in step with other streaming services that have similarly raised prices this year, it’s the first time the technology company has increased the rate for Apple TV+ since 2023. Unlike other streaming services, Apple TV+ doesn’t have a lower-priced subscription tier that’s supported by advertising, instead offering a one-price-for-all model that falls in the middle of the price tiers offered by both Netflix and Hulu.
The new $12.99 rate is now in effect for new subscribers, following a free seven-day trial, while existing customers will see the price hike 30 days after their next renewal date. The cost of an annual subscription, currently $99, has not changed.
Apple may be banking that consumers will pay up, given the recent critical acclaim for its TV shows and popularity of its theatrical film F1: The Movie, starring Brad Pitt. Last month, Apple received a record-breaking 81 nominations for Primetime Emmy Awards, led by Severance with 27 nominations.
But the Cupertino, California-based company is reportedly losing more than $1 billion annually on the streaming service, according to reporting earlier this year by The Information, and its marketing efforts have fallen flat.
And while more than 80% of Americans use streaming services, according to a Pew Research Center survey released in July, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video continue to reign supreme. Apple TV+ ranked eighth in popularity, with only 25% of respondents saying they watch Apple TV+ programming.
American households now spend an average of $69 per month on the cost of four paid streaming services combined, according to a report released by Deloitte in March. And consumers have become savvy about gaming the monthly subscription services to binge-watch shows they want to watch. Several people on Reddit noted that they routinely subscribe to Apple TV+ for a month or two before canceling and will continue to do so, even at the higher rate, while another noted that the size of the service’s catalog doesn’t justify this new price.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anna-Louise Jackson is a freelance writer and editor with more than 15 years of experience covering financial markets, the economy, personal finance, and business trends. Her work has previously been published by Bloomberg Businessweek, CNBC, The Associated Press, Money, Success, and more.