Is a subscription to Apple TV worth the cost?
Is a subscription to Apple TV worth the cost?
We’ll evaluate the streamer to let you know if it’s one you should make sure you always keep.
Finding a good bargain in streaming seems harder than ever these days. It’s even harder if you’re stubborn about having to watch ads with your streaming titles; ad-free plans under $15 per month are pretty rare, and some streamers are fast approaching the $20-per-month rate to watch without commercials.
Apple TV still charges less than $15 per month for its sole plan, but its library features significantly less content than streamers like Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix. So, is an Apple TV subscription worth it? Find out more about what you can watch with a subscription, and get a frank opinion on the streamer’s value below.
Is Apple TV worth it?
What’s on Apple TV?
Apple TV’s library is pretty different from every other major streaming service on the market. It’s made up almost entirely of original, exclusive TV shows and movies, and many of its shows fall into the prestige TV category. The strategy has led to some massive hits for Apple TV, such as the sci-fi thriller series “Severance” and the bittersweet, hope-filled comedy series “Ted Lasso.” Apple makes a concerted effort to bring in recognizable A-list celebrities for its titles, as well.
What you won’t find on Apple TV is a large catalog of licensed TV shows and movies from decades past. The service maintains a focus on original content, and while it has licensed selections of films from time to time, those additions have never been permanent.
Does Apple TV offer any live sports?
Apple TV provides three major sports properties:
- Every Major League Soccer game through 2029.
- Weekly MLB doubleheaders on Friday nights during the regular season.
- All Formula 1 races.
The deal between Apple and MLS has changed greatly since it was first signed in 2022. Gone is the MLS Season Pass streaming service that housed MLS games for Apple; those games now play on Apple TV at no extra cost to subscribers, and will do so through the end of the 2029 season.
Last October, Apple signed a deal to host Formula 1 races, practice sessions, and more live on Apple TV. This content is once again available to all subscribers with no additional fees required.
Apple TV also offers “Friday Night Baseball,” a blackout-free doubleheader of MLB games on Friday nights during the regular season.
How much are Apple TV’s plans?
| Plan | Ads? | Live Sports? | Monthly price | Annual price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple TV base plan | No | Yes | $13 | $100 |
How’s the ad experience on Apple TV?
Apple TV is the last of the top streaming services not to launch an ad-supported plan. The streamer does play skippable ads for other Apple TV content before playback of shows and movies, but that’s as far as it goes.
What do I like best about Apple TV?
To be quite honest, I’m pretty far behind on Apple TV’s library. I haven’t even started “Severance,” and while I’m partway through the newest seasons of “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” and “Shrinking,” I still haven’t explored all the titles I’ve been interested in watching on the streamer.
But therein lies the beauty of the Apple TV library. It may not have a staggering number of titles, but it does have a really interesting catalog of shows and movies to choose from, in just about every imaginable category. Every time I hear Apple TV is doing a show in a genre I like, I get excited to find out more about the premise, and especially the all-star cast the streamer will no doubt assemble for it.
I also appreciate Apple’s continued commitment to ad-free streaming. Its sole, ad-free plan is cheaper than such plans from Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, and Prime Video, and while the streamer does have an annoying habit of raising its prices — three increases in three years — it’s still a decent value overall.
What are the drawbacks of Apple TV?
The only real complaint I can register with Apple TV is admittedly a large one: its insistence on an originals-only catalog means that there’s often not a lot to watch on the streamer after you’ve finished the show or movie you’re excited for. Worse yet, delays between seasons of Apple TV titles can be quite long; just ask fans of “Severance” who had to wait almost three years between the first and second seasons of the show.
So, is Apple TV worth it?
For most subscribers, the answer is probably no — at least if the question is whether Apple TV is worth keeping on a month-in, month-out basis. While the series has a highly intriguing library, there just isn’t enough to keep viewers consistently engaged with Apple TV once a chosen title has ended.
Take “Widow's Bay,” for example. The comedic horror series has become a breakout hit for Apple TV, but what’s to keep subscribers attached to the streamer once they’re finished binging the first season? If they didn’t care enough about other titles in Apple TV’s listings to subscribe to the service when they were released, will they really be tempted enough to pay for another month’s subscription to watch?
Live sports increase the value of an Apple TV subscription, no doubt. But Formula 1 still has more of a niche following in the United States, and while the popularity of MLS games is growing, it’s still difficult to keep a large swath of viewers from cancelling their subscription with such offerings. Two MLB games per week aren’t enough to overcome this problem, either.
There are certainly some subscribers who will find value in keeping Apple TV permanently. But the average streaming viewer is probably best served by subscribing to the service every month they want to see a new season of a favorite show, then cancelling once they’re done.
Apple TV
Apple TV (formerly known as Apple TV+) is a subscription video streaming service for $14.99 per month, offering a growing slate of original series, films, documentaries, and specials. Unlike other platforms that combine licensed titles with originals, Apple TV is built entirely around exclusive programming, making it the home of critically acclaimed hits such as “Ted Lasso,” “Severance,” “The Morning Show,” and “Silo.” Its lineup continues to expand with award-winning dramas, comedies, family-friendly shows, and blockbuster original films like “CODA,” which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.