Amazon Prime users to be offered Apple TV+ bundle

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV

US subscribers to Amazon Prime Video will shortly be able to add on Apple TV+, extending the reach of Apple's streamer.

Person standing on stage in front of Apple TV+ logo, with a dark cloud background.
Tim Cook announcing Apple TV+ in 2019



A year after it hiked the price of Apple TV+ from $6.99 per month to $9.99 per month, Apple is now trying to get it into the hands, and onto the remote controls, of more viewers. Amazon has announced that subscribers to its own streamer in the US will be able to add on Apple TV+ -- for the same $9.99 per month.

"We want to make Apple TV+ and its award-winning library of series and films from the world's greatest storytellers available to as many viewers as possible," Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Services, said in a statement. "We're thrilled that Prime Video will now offer Apple TV+, giving viewers an incredible breadth of viewing options."

There may still be some smart TVs that have an Amazon Prime Video app but not an Apple TV+ one. Otherwise, just about everywhere viewers can get Amazon Prime, they can already get Apple TV+.

So given that there is no cost saving to the viewer, Amazon is presenting it as a benefit that they don't have to download a separate app.

Even so, Apple is right that this puts its shows in front of more viewers because it's estimated that Amazon has 115 million viewers in the US. But Amazon itself says that Prime Video viewers have the option of "more than 100 add-on subscription options in the US."

Consequently, Apple TV+ is still going to be a small player amongst many other options. Arguably, the move also goes against Apple's ambition to make the Apple TV app one central hub for all streamers, although Netflix has continued to resist that.

Amazon Prime video starts at $8.99 per month, so the total charge for the two services is $18.98. Amazon says that Apple TV+ will launch on its platform by the end of October 2024.

Note that users who subscribe to the Apple One bundle already get Apple TV+ included, and it cannot be removed.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    Fidonet127Fidonet127 Posts: 572member
    I get AppleTV+ via the bundle and I enjoy it. I cannot see this adding many subscribers. This will be a few subscribers, who will do a month or a few months, but I cannot see subscribers lasting for a year on this. Same thing for those who only pay for Apple TV+ by itself.
  • Reply 2 of 6
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,412member
    Fidonet127 said:
    I get AppleTV+ via the bundle and I enjoy it. I cannot see this adding many subscribers. This will be a few subscribers, who will do a month or a few months, but I cannot see subscribers lasting for a year on this. Same thing for those who only pay for Apple TV+ by itself.

    I've never seen the need to cancel Apple TV+. Netflix is far more hit and miss for me. It was a little lean during COVID and the strikes, just like everyone else, but the intro of new and returning shows has been pretty steady throughout the year. I also save money by doing the yearly subscription for TV+ and Music.
    sflagel
  • Reply 3 of 6
    jgreg728jgreg728 Posts: 106member
    This is SO F***ING LAME, SHORT SIGHTED, AND STUPID OF APPLE. I've said for YEARS Apple TV Channels should've been their main focus of competing with the likes of Netflix Hulu and Amazon. But they let an otherwise superior platform pretty much die in favor of just Apple TV+, which should've been treated as a showcase for what the rest of the channels were capable of in features. I see this move as Apple throwing in the towel in the most un-Apple-like way and telling everyone Amazon is the winner here. If I were them I would've ONLY agreed to this if Amazon themselves agreed to make Prime Video an Apple TV Channel on the TV App in return, along with Apple ACTUALLY PUSHING to match Amazon's channel lineup with services like Max, Discovery+, Crunchyroll, PBS, and many others integrating with the TV App. As someone who's tried to support Apple's TV products as much as possible, this was like a slap in the face. Total failure on Apple's part imo.
  • Reply 4 of 6
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,705member
    jgreg728 said:
    If I were [Apple] I would've ONLY agreed to this if Amazon themselves agreed to make Prime Video an Apple TV Channel on the TV App in return,
    I would certainly give Prime Video another chance if they did that. So I agree with you.
  • Reply 5 of 6
    AppleishAppleish Posts: 708member
    As long as it's embedded in Prime and does not pollute the AppleTV+ app the way Hulu pollutes the Disney Plus app, when you have a bundle.
    edited 1:00PM
  • Reply 6 of 6
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,705member
    Appleish said:
    As long as it's embedded in Prime and does not pollute the AppleTV+ app the way Hulu pollutes the Disney Plus app, when you have a bundle.
    Naturally, that's correct. 

    In the case of Disney+ and Hulu, they are owned by the same company, so pollution is easy and expected.
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