Apple Hires Another Advertising Executive; How Much Will Apple TV+’s Eventual Ad-Supported Plan Cost?
All signs point to Apple TV+ launching an ad-supported plan sometime in the near future.
Apple TV+ is one of the only major streaming services on the market that does not offer an ad-supported streaming plan. Estimates have pegged Apple TV+’s subscriber base at between 40 and 50 million customers, and with nearly every other subscription video service that size now providing an ad-supported streaming plan, it seems like only a matter of time before Apple TV+ launches a plan with ads. That possibility looks more like an eventuality than ever, as Business Insider reports that Apple has hired Joseph Cady, a television advertising executive with 14 years of experience.
- Cady’s most recent job was EVP of advanced advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal.
- He’s expected to work closely alongside Lauren Fry, an executive hired last year by Apple as head of video ad sales.
- Apple is unlikely to follow Amazon’s strategy for creating an ad-supported streaming plan, but how much will it cost to stream Apple TV+ with ads?
Cady most recently worked as executive vice president of advanced advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, and helped that company set up partnerships with Amazon, Google, TikTok, and other digital platforms. He has experience in helping to create targeted TV ads, which are especially crucial for streaming platforms that usually offer substantially fewer ads per hour than linear TV, but provide clients with certain levels of customization to make sure the right products and services get in front of the right potential customers.
Apple has been building a strong advertising staff in recent months. In February 2023, the company hired Lauren Fry, whose specialty is video ad sales. Cady is expected to work closely with Fry as well as with Apple’s head of global ad sales Winston Crawford. Crawford runs the team that supports Apple TV+, and Cady’s introduction to that team will only stoke further speculation that Apple is aiming to create an ad-supported tier of its streaming service.
Is Apple TV+ Finally Ready to Launch an Ad-Supported Plan?
Apple’s repeated hires of advertising executives almost certainly point to the creation of a new ad plan for Apple TV+. Discussions of an ad-supported tier of the streamer have been ongoing since at least 2022, but Apple makes so much money from its iPhone retailing business and other revenue streams that it has not needed to chase streaming profits the way that companies like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have. Because of this other, much larger, revenue stream Apple can take its time to make sure that it takes the next step in the most responsible and prudent way possible.
While it hasn’t yet done so on its flagship entertainment content, the streamer has been gaining experience in the ad-supported streaming game for the past few years. Apple has been experimenting and gaining knowledge and experience in the streaming ad business for the last few years, as it includes commercials during its “Friday Night Baseball” broadcasts — which will return for the third season later this month. It also includes advertisements of various types on its soccer streaming service MLS Season Pass. This includes traditional commercials, in-game sponsorships, and more.
If all of the company’s hires and sports advertising experience have given Apple execs enough confidence to finally make the move on ad ad-supported tier, now would seem like a very good time to do so.
How Much Would Apple TV+’s Ad-Supported Plan Cost?
Apple TV+ raised its subscription price to $9.99 per month last October. That certainly makes room for an ads plan of the streamer; $9.99 would put Apple TV+ on the lower end of ad-free streaming plans, but considering the small library on Apple TV+ thanks to a total lack of licensed titles, that price seems to make sense for the time being.
As of now, The Streamable does not expect Apple to follow Amazon’s lead and force ads on all current customers unless they upgrade to a new, more expensive tier. That strategy worked for a service like Prime Video, which many customers are receiving as an ancillary benefit of an Amazon Prime subscription and thus has a much larger scale — not to mention content library — than Apple TV+. Instead, we think Apple will follow the lead of Netflix and Disney+ and create a cheaper ads plan for customers to choose.
The most logical price point for a hypothetical Apple TV+ ads plan is $6.99 per month. That’s the price Apple charged for its ad-free plan between October 2022 and October 2023, and it would give viewers a meaningfully cheaper option than the premium ad-free plan. It would also line up with other ad-supported plans around the marketplace; Netflix charges $6.99 per month for its ads plan, while Disney+ and Hulu ask $7.99 each. Max has one of the most expensive ad-supported plans at $9.99 per month, but it and every other service mentioned has a larger library than Apple because of that company’s strategy of offering only original TV shows and movies, except for a new experiment with 50 licensed titles being available for a limited time.
Apple’s continual hiring of advertising executives seems to indicate an Apple TV+ plan with ads is inevitable. The chance that Apple allows its streamer to be the only major platform without an ads plan is incredibly slim, and our expert prediction is that when it becomes available for customers, Apple TV+’s ad tier will cost $6.99 per month.
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is a subscription video streaming service for $9.99 a month that includes high-quality original shows and movies including Best Picture winner “CODA,” popular sitcom “Ted Lasso,” and dramas like “The Morning Show” and “Severance.” Apple TV+ is also home to MLB baseball games on Friday nights and MLS Season Pass.