Exclusive: Apple TV+ Has Grown Its Library by 35% in the Past Year as Streamer Hits Viewership Highs
When it comes to keeping subscribers happy and engaged, one of the tried and true methods that streaming services have employed since the dawn of this era of media is to offer libraries so chock full of steady streams of content, that it would be impossible for any one viewer to ever watch it all. However, one subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service has bucked that trend, and in doing so has remained relatively small in comparison to its competitors, but is becoming increasingly invaluable to contentious customers. By keeping its streaming offerings limited — and not to mention star-studded — Apple TV+ has cultivated a reputation for consistently delivering some of the best series and films on streaming without the unnecessary swings and misses that other streamers force viewers to wade through.
Since its launch in 2019, the service has emphasized a philosophy of quality over quantity. While that has led to Emmy-winning series like “Ted Lasso,” “Severance,” and “The Morning Show” — as well as other hits, including “Silo,” “Drops of God,” “Slow Horses,” “Shrinking,” “Foundation,” “The After Party,” and more — it has also limited the reach that the platform could potentially have. According to Nielsen viewership metrics, Apple TV+ doesn’t yet rise to 1% of total TV watching time (including broadcast, cable, and streaming), which regularly puts it behind services like Tubi, Pluto, The Roku Channel, and Peacock.
Apple does not report its streaming subscriber totals, but industry estimates put the service at 25 million paid customers in spring 2022. However, earlier this year, the service notched three consecutive months of new viewership records as weekly viewership totals increased by 147% year-over-year.
Now, new data from Reelgood shows that not only is Apple investing in its library, but it is also continuing to make inroads across the streaming space. According to Reelgood, Apple TV+’s streaming viewership share has risen from 1.4% in January to 2.2% in June, thanks to the third — and perhaps final — season of “Ted Lasso,” as well as the first seasons of “Shrinking” and “Silo,” and the release of the original movie “Tetris.”
“Shrinking” was in Reelgood’s weekly top-10 list for four consecutive weeks, while “Silo” was on the list for eight consecutive weeks — always among the top-5 most-popular titles — until its season ended on June 30. “Ted Lasso” was on the list for four consecutive weeks, and reportedly delivered record-breaking premiere viewership in March. In total, Apple TV+ had at least one show in Reelgood’s Top 10 in 25 of the first 27 weeks of 2023.
The service reached its all-time viewership share high in May of this year when it hit 2.5% of TV viewing according to Reelgood. Not only did “Ted Lasso” wrap up its run on May 31, but “Silo” premiered and aired its first five episodes, and “The Last Thing He Told Me” ended its run during the month as well.
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While the viewership totals are undoubtedly attributable to the consistently excellent product that the streamer is producing, it also helps that there is just more available to watch on Apple TV+. Over the past year, the service has expanded its offerings by 51%; in June 2022, the service had 130 titles available and is now just shy of 200 unique shows and movies. While that is still significantly smaller than every single one of its competitors, unlike the other streamers, Apple TV+ does not have decades of studio content to pad its library, and it does not license material from outside sources in order to supplement its original offerings.
June’s viewership share of 2.2% was double what the streamer saw during the same month in 2022, showing that Apple’s slow and steady philosophy might be paying off. What also could be benefitting the service is the fact that it is investing more and more in live sports. This spring marked the second season that Apple TV has carried a pair of Major League Baseball games on Friday nights, and the service also launched MLS Season Pass in conjunction with the start of the Major League Soccer season.
The standalone subscription package allows fans to watch every single game played by an MLS team, but it does not require an Apple TV+ subscription, although discounts are given to viewers who do. While those games don’t technically impact the streamer’s viewership totals, they do bring added eyeballs and interest to the Apple TV app and platform.
While it doesn’t generate nearly as many new titles as Netflix, Max, Prime Video, Disney+, or even Peacock, Apple TV+ has gotten into a solid, seemingly sustainable, pattern of having one quality series dovetail nicely with another; meaning that there is always something of value to check out on the service. Also, on the heels of acclaimed movies like “CODA,” “Causeway,” “Sharper,” and “Luck,” the company is now set to invest $1 billion annually on original films, meaning that there will be even more quality content to come.
Although this specific strategy would likely not work for any other streaming service (besides perhaps Prime Video), since Apple TV+ is still a relatively small corner of the company’s multi-trillion dollar enterprise, it has the freedom to build its library — and its audience — methodically; investing only in projects that it believes in both artistically and economically.
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.