Apple TV Plus needs to be on Android: Here’s why

Plenty of excellent streaming services are available, such as Netflix, Disney+, HBO, and more. However, Apple TV Plus is a streaming service renowned for producing some of the finest content. Despite being out there for half a decade, Apple TV Plus hasn’t become as popular as Tim Cook had hoped when the streaming service launched in 2019.

A recent report from Bloomberg suggests that after spending billions of dollars, Apple is cutting costs to curb losses on TV Plus. However, we think the company could benefit and make the streaming service more sustainable by bringing it to rival platforms, particularly Android.

The current state of Apple TV Plus

It isn’t looking good

The Apple TV Plus service may sound relatively new, but it’s been nearly five years since its launch. Despite heavy investment and critically acclaimed shows like Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, and Severance, featuring top Hollywood actors like Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Aniston, the streaming service has struggled to gain users. Not to forget, Apple also signed a huge 10-year $2.5 billion deal with MLS for exclusive steaming in 2022.

Despite putting all this money into Apple TV Plus, the service reportedly accounts for only 0.2% of TV viewership in the US. To put this in perspective, Apple TV Plus generates fewer views in a month than Netflix does in a single day. This is a worry for Apple, as despite spending more than $20 billion on content and having Ted Lasso as the most-watched streaming show of 2023, the company has fallen behind in the streaming game. It’s evident that Apple TV Plus hasn’t been very appealing to consumers despite having some of the best content.

Factors behind Apple TV Plus’ slow growth

There are several reasons why Apple TV Plus hasn’t gained traction

As with most things, you can’t point to a single reason why Apple TV Plus has failed to take off and is incurring so many losses. There are many factors. While it’s common for a new streaming service to burn cash to attract customers in the beginning, Apple TV Plus has spent excessively on everything from cast to production to marketing.

Hollywood stars and directors know Apple has money and have leveraged this. For example, Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon reportedly earned $2 million per episode for The Morning Show, while costs for new episodes of Severance surged to over $20 million per episode. Apple has also spent heavily on marketing, signing big stars like Lionel Messi and Billie Eilish. Despite this, Apple is losing money for two main reasons.

First, it only offers a single $9.99 per month ad-free plan. While services like Netflix and Disney+ have increased their minimum plans to $15.49 a month and $13.99 a month, respectively (tiers without ads), Apple charges less than other streaming services.

This lower revenue further adds up when you consider that Apple TV Plus does not offer apps for Android and Windows. While Apple offers apps for Google TV, Amazon’s Fire TV OS, and Samsung’s Tizen OS for smart TVs, there still isn’t a dedicated app for Android smartphones and tablets.

The only way to access Apple TV Plus on Android smartphones and tablets is through the official website, which isn’t ideal compared to platforms like Disney+ and Netflix. All other major services offer dedicated apps for Android, but not Apple. This means Apple is missing out on a potential audience of 3.9 billion Android users worldwide.

Why offering Apple TV Plus on Android makes sense

It’s a win-win situation

Offering a dedicated Apple TV Plus app on Android would widen the company’s target audience to get more eyeballs on its content and add a lot of revenue. Even if the company can tap a small fraction of the Android audience, it will make significant revenue through the streaming service, making it more sustainable than it currently is. And for the Android audience, it would mean we get access to some of the finest content available to stream. It’s a win-win situation for Apple and Android users.

Apple TV Plus not being available on Android is all the more confusing since Apple Music is offered on Android. Still, it seems Apple has taken note. According to a recent report, development for an Apple TV Plus Android app is underway, though there isn’t an official confirmation from the company. We hope the streaming service arrives on Android soon. Who knows, given its content, it could become one of the best streaming apps on the platform.