When the next season of Apple’s hit sci-fi workplace drama Severance lands on its Apple TV Plus service in January, some users may have to sit through an ad or two before they can watch.
Apple executives met with Barb, the UK’s equivalent of Nielsen, to discuss potential options for tracking advertising for its Apple TV Plus subscription service, according to a report by UK newspaper The Telegraph. Apple already monitors the time viewers spend watching Apple TV Plus content, the publication noted, but the tech giant would need to add more “data collection techniques” for advertisers.
Representatives for Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Telegraph report didn’t indicate whether Apple is considering a cheaper tier than its standard $10 per month Apple TV Plus subscription, or whether it intends to introduce ads to existing subscribers, and if so in which countries.
Apple would be joining the club
If Apple were to begin including ads for Apple TV Plus, it would be just the latest streaming service to do so. Over the past few years, companies including Netflix, Disney, Amazon and Warner Bros. Discovery have each experimented with advertising on their respective subscription video services, with broadly positive results.
Netflix has been among the most dramatic examples, with executives crediting its cheaper $7 per month ad-supported tier with bringing in 45% of all new signups where it’s available. So far, Netflix has said that less than 20% of its more than 277 million overall subscriber count pay for the cheaper ad-supported plan. Netflix introduced its ad-supported plan in late 2022, after years of resisting such a feature. The company’s ad-free plan starts at roughly double its ad-supported tier, at $15.49 per month.
The iPhone-maker so far has relied on increasing subscription prices for its Apple TV Plus to bring in more revenue. The company most recently raised prices late last year as part of broader price hikes for its Apple Arcade gaming service, Apple News Plus subscription and Apple One bundle.
Apple hasn’t made public commitments about ads on its service, though it does have some ads on its programming for Major League Soccer. The company has also hired TV ad experts in the past year, potentially as part of a larger effort.