News.Life

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<p>
 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 ‘
 <strong>
  Severance
 </strong>
 ’ airs this week, it’s a damning indictment of the tech firm’s Netflix competitor.
</p>
<p>
 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.
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<p>
 Apple’s huge investment into the video streaming market hasn’t reaped a similarly sized subscriber base. Despite shows like ‘Severance’ and ‘
 <strong>
  Ted Lasso
 </strong>
 ’, it lags significantly behind competitors Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+.
</p>
<p>
 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.
</p>
<p>
 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.
</p>
<p>
 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.
</p>
<p>
 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 ‘
 <strong>
  Adolescence
 </strong>
 ’.
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<p>
 Similarly, Apple has had other hits in shows like ‘Ted Lasso’, an upbeat football comedy series, and ‘The Morning Show’, a satire of network broadcasting shows. Across its original programming, Apple TV+ shows have earned more than 2,500 award nominations and 538 wins, Tim Cook, Apple CEO said in January.
</p>
<p>
 On the film front, Apple has also been no slouch. It achieved its first
 <strong>
  Best Picture
 </strong>
 win at the Oscars with
 <em>
  CODA
 </em>
 . It has since supported multiple high-profile directors to produce bold award season-friendly work like Martin Scorsese’s
 <em>
  Killers of the Flower Moon
 </em>
 , Ridley Scott’s
 <em>
  Napoleon
 </em>
 , and Steve McQueen’s
 <em>
  Blitz
 </em>
 .
</p>
<p>
 Yet somehow, all this money isn’t translating into subscribers. Apple is watching its investment pour straight down the drain.
</p>
<h2>
 Water cooler television
</h2>
<p>
 A major part of the problem is in the lack of social caché Apple TV+ seemingly has. Major stars sign up for expensive projects just for them to be dumped on the service without enough hype for it to drum up the kind of publicity that is innate to an HBO release.
</p>
<p>
 “Water Cooler Television” is a term in the industry to describe the kinds of shows that would leave such a widespread cultural impression, it would inevitably become the topic of conversation in offices around the world the next morning.
</p>
<p>
 Classic examples of water cooler TV are the slick big budget shows that came out of the beginning of the 21st century like ‘The Sopranos’, ‘Breaking Bad’ and most recently ‘
 <strong>
  Succession
 </strong>
 ’. Through its decades-long reputation and weekly release schedule, HBO has been a master at capturing the ephemerality of a water cooler moment.
</p>
<p>
 ‘Severance’ is Apple’s first show that has somewhat replicated that level of cultural significance. Thanks to its deeply mysterious plot and confusing cliffhangers, each week it has become a genuine competitor for people’s attention.
</p>
<p>
 It’s the first time Apple has managed this feat though. There are countless examples of shows that had all the making of cultural impact only to land on entirely deaf ears.
</p>
<p>
 Last year, the platform premiered ‘Disclaimer’, the first TV series from Oscar-winning Mexican director
 <strong>
  Alfonso Cuarón
 </strong>
 starring
 <strong>
  Cate Blanchett
 </strong>
 Given such an illustrious lineup, it’s not surprising that the series premiered at the Venice Film Festival. However, despite Blanchett’s involvement, 'Disclaimer' failed to escape being categorized among the lackluster offerings of Apple TV+ shows.
</p>
<p>
 Adaptations of popular novels such as 'Lessons in Chemistry', 'Pachinko', and 'Shantaram' failed to gain traction. Similarly, the highly anticipated follow-up to 'Band of Brothers,' titled 'Masters of the Air,' did not manage to boost viewership. Conversely, Apple has upset audiences by prematurely canceling shows like the musical-comedy series 'Schmigadoon!', which only ran for a brief two seasons—perhaps they should rename it 'Into the Schmoods,' huh, you cowards?
</p>
<h2>
 Film figures
</h2>
<p>
 Just as streaming services are hesitant to disclose viewer numbers for their television shows, it remains difficult to assess the success of a platform’s movie releases, despite having access to box office statistics.
 <em>
  <strong>
   Murderers of the Blooming Moon
  </strong>
 </em>
 For instance, it was commercially unsuccessful, earning $158.8 million (€146.7 million) globally compared to its approximately $215 million (€198.6 million) production cost.
</p>
<p>
 <em>
  Napoleon
 </em>
 , which also enjoyed a theatrical run in late 2023, managed to gross about $221.4 million (€204.6 million), compared to its production budget of roughly $200 million (€184.5 million). Although trade publications suggested it did not come close to covering its costs, Apple maintained that the movie turned out to be profitable.
</p>
<p>
 Both movies directed by acclaimed filmmakers received a special opportunity typically not afforded to streaming service productions. These films had theatrical runs before being made available on the respective streaming platforms several months afterward.
</p>
<p>
 Apple is also evidently not prepared to abandon its investment in high-cost movies. This year, we can expect several highly anticipated releases.
 <em>
  F1
 </em>
 film from
 <em>
  Top Gun: Maverick
 </em>
 director Joseph Kosinski, as well as the newest films from Guy Ritchie, Spike Lee, and Paul Greengrass.
</p>
<p>
 Concerns over cultural impact of shows dumped on streamers is not a problem solely owned by them. Time and again, Netflix releases a show to huge fanfare the week it airs only for it to fall out of conversation almost immediately. ‘Severance’, which has just been officially renewed for a third season, may see a tide change for the tech company’s nascent streaming venture. But whether Apple’s big financial gambit on streaming success will pay off remains to be seen.
</p>

Why Apple's Streaming Services Are Struggling: The $1 Billion Conundrum

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...