Apple TV+ Is Winning The Streaming Wars

When it comes to streaming services, between price increases, password-sharing crackdowns, adding ad tiers, and burnout from reboots and remakes, audiences finally have to choose sides. When each one added up, it was less than the cost of dining out it was easy to subscribe to each. Even better still, subscribers would share their password with a trusted friend and they would do the same with one of their subscriptions. Then capitalism joined the chat.

Studios are finding out the hard way that advertisers fronted the bill on most costs. On top of that, they realized, it’s very hard to show growth to investors when you hit a wall on subscribers. So what do they do? Add ad tiers and crack down on password-sharing to show that they can still make their investors more money, but it’s a double-edged sword as most audiences are deciding to choose sides which can shrink their growth.

Aside from content, this is where Apple is winning. One of the strongest pushes for Apple TV+ is their original content. While they might not have the largest library, it’s not just old sitcoms from the 90s made with a modern feel. Their original content is making stands come award seasons, they’re taking risks that competitors aren’t, and they’re still just as cheap as the next service.

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While content is king, Apple TV+ has a huge head start in one key area. Two of the largest streamers, Netflix and Hulu/Disney are cracking down on password-sharing. If you have multiple people using your account, it will either cost you more or your subscription altogether. Netflix will charge you an extra $7.99 per account. Add that to their premium tier at $22.99/mo and you’re paying $30/mo for Netflix with 1 extra account or max with 2 allowed accounts is $37.97 plus tax but you do get Netflix gaming at no extra cost.

Disney+ on the other hand, if you want to go ad-free version of Disney+ they start you at $13.99/month for just their one streamer. If you want to add Hulu it jumps to $19.99/mo and ESPN+ all the way up to $24.99/mo. It gets even more costly if you want to add the live TV package required to watch some movies, shows, and sporting events, and that’s without a password-sharing plan similar to Netflix. You’d have to sign up for a whole other plan.

Apple has the competition beat and there’s no trickery here. Apple TV+ has a leg up on the competition not just at a discounted price because of a smaller library. Apple advertises its family-sharing plan with all its subscription services. You and five other family members can use Apple TV+ wherever you go.

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You don’t have to worry about an accidental charge on your account because the streaming service is tied to your Apple IDs, which are tied to devices. Whether you’re on your iPhone, Apple TV, Macbook, or iPad you sign in via your registered Apple device connected to your ID. Sure, it would be just as easy for someone to sign into your account as the other streamers, but most people aren’t giving out their Apple ID as it controls more than just their streaming account.

Password-sharing wins in the end for Apple but the true kicker is pricing. Not only are they cheaper than the bigger streamers monthly, but they’re looking to add an ad tier as well to lower pricing while still allowing family access but their bundle has more to offer as well.

If you’re looking for just streaming, you’re starting at $9.99/mo. Apple doesn’t have their version of Hulu to bundle with their pricing but they do offer more subscription services at a lower cost. For instance, for the same price you pay for Disney and Hulu, you can get Apple One for the same price of $19.99/mo. You’d get ad-free streaming, 50GB of iCloud storage, Apple Music, and Apple Arcade for an individual plan.

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Since there are multiple services tied to that, there is a Family plan offered at $25.95/mo to receive all of those services, and the iCloud storage bumps up to 200GB and it’s still almost as cheap as Netflix’s stand-alone premium package, and $4 cheaper than if you add one password-sharer. If you want to go for the creme de la creme atop the Apple mountain, you can do their Premier tier. Not only would you add 2TB of iCould storage, the top tier also adds Apple Fitness+ and Apple News+, and at $37.95 it would still be just as cheap to get all those services on six devices, as Netflix would be for their Premier tier with just two.

Apple TV+ might not have a library deep enough to cover the value in content you’d get with other services, but if you’re a price point shopper who wants the most bang for their buck Apple is winning the streaming/subscription wars.