Apple TV+is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by Apple Inc. Launched on November 1, 2019, it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service was announced during the Apple Special Event of March 2019, where entertainers from Apple TV+ projects appeared on-stage, among them Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg.
The service can be accessed through Apple's website and through the Apple TV app, which has gradually become available for many Apple devices and some major competing streaming devices, including some smart TV models and video-game consoles. Apple plans to expand the services' availability, and there are workarounds for subscribers whose device is not presently supported. Access is included in the Apple One subscription bundle. Most of the content is available in Dolby Vision profile 5 and Atmos.
Upon its debut, Apple TV+ was available in about 100 countries, fewer than the reported target of 150. A number of countries were excluded from service despite other Apple products being available. Commentators noted that the fairly wide initial reach of the service offered Apple an advantage over other recently launched services such as Disney+, and that because Apple distributes its own content through the service instead of distributing licensed third-party content (as, for example, Hulu does) it will not be limited by licensing issues during its expansion.
By early 2020, Apple TV+ had poor growth and low subscriber numbers relative to competing services. In the middle of that year, Apple began to license older television programs and films, attempting to stay competitive with other services, attract and retain a viewership for its original content, and convert into subscribers users who were trialling the service.
The service has become the home to critically-acclaimed content: between September 2021 and March 2022, Apple TV+ netted a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series with Ted Lasso and the Academy Award for Best Picture with CODA, whose win marked the first Best Picture win for a film distributed by a streaming service.
Apple TV+ (along with the simultaneously announced a-la-carte premium-video subscription aggregation service Apple TV Channels) is part of a concerted effort by Apple to expand its service revenues.
