Серіал «Таємниця бункера» / Apple TV+
Despite the fact that Apple TV+ has released several hit series in the science fiction genre, the service still generates $1 billion a year in losses for the Cupertino-based company, according to The Information.
The report claims that the number of subscribers on the platform reached 45 million in 2024.
Since 2019, Apple TV+ has spent more than $5 billion a year on content, but in 2024, CEO Tim Cook cut these costs by $500 million. The Information’s figures are consistent with a July Bloomberg report that claimed Apple has spent more than $20 billion on the Apple TV+ library.
Apple TV+’s spending on content used to include generous perks for actors and producers, where the company would spend «hundreds of thousands of dollars per flight» to transport the team to promotional events. In 2023, Apple’s finance department pushed Apple TV+ executives to look for «better deals» on airfare.
Apple TV+ — is a service business and a revenue category that is becoming increasingly important for Apple amid less attention to the iPhone. In the company’s latest financial report, services accounted for 21% of total revenue. However, sources told The Information that some of Apple’s other services, including Apple Arcade, Apple Music, and Apple News+, are struggling with tiny margins.
Considering data from Nielsenthat tracks content views on TVs, Apple TV+ typically garners less than 1% of the monthly TV audience in the U.S. — compared to 8.2% for Netflix and 1.2% for Max in February 2025.
At the same time, given the figures of the last fiscal year with 93.7 billion in net profit for Apple, the loss of $1 billion does not seem significant, but rather manageable.
In such cases, competitors usually run ads and raise the cost of subscriptions — Apple TV+ does not, and prices were last changed in the fall of 2023 (which is a long time for streaming today).
Earlier, there were rumors that Apple had decided to limit movie screenings to 1-2 films a year amid recent financial failures — projects that cost more than $200 million, such as «Napoleon», «Argyle» or «Killers of the flower full moon», did not bring any benefit to the company.
Last year, Apple canceled the theatrical release of the Brad Pitt and George Clooney movie «Lone Wolves» and refused to continue. The rest of the so far unjustified recent spending includes «Blitz» ($150 million budget), «Take Me to the Moon» ($100 million) and «The Gorge» ($80 million).