‘Ted Lasso,’ ‘Widow’s Bay’ And ‘Severance’ Get Expensive As Apple TV Raises Prices

While it is becoming common knowledge that Apple TV has some of the best streaming shows, the service is realizing it should capitalize on the situation.

In the wake of a slew of Emmy nominations for shows like Widow’s Bay, Slow Horses and Pluribus, Apple TV is raising prices by $1.99, up to $14.99 a month. That figure is triple the service’s original launch price when it arrived back in 2019. Its annual price is now $119, up from $99. The price increase starts now, which brings it closer to its rivals in the streaming space. Here are some points of comparison among other ad-free tiers of streamers:

• Netflix – $19.99/mo ($26.99 for premium)
• Disney+ – $19.00/mo ($19.99 with Hulu bundle)
• HBO Max – $18.49/mo ($22.99 for premium)
• Amazon Prime – $14.99/mo, but an extra $2.99 for no ads
• Hulu – $18.99/mo
• Paramount+ – $13.99/mo (plus Showtime)
• Peacock – $19.99/mo

So, you can sort of see the rationale here, even if it’s annoying for all of us consumers. At $15, that still is below all of these other services by $3-5, outside of Paramount+ at a dollar less (we’ll see how long that lasts). Apple TV has a much smaller catalog than most other services, however. It does have a much better batting average of good shows, which is why it has stood out in the space. If Netflix has a high-quality hit rate of 5-10%, Apple TV is probably closer to 50%+.

Apple TV is in a great spot right now, as they have been for the last few years. Ted Lasso season 4 just set viewership records for the service. Shows like Widow’s Bay, Pluribus, Severance, Your Friends and Neighbors and Shrinking are award winners or nominees. It boasts some of the best science-fiction series on TV, where in addition to the high-concept Pluribus and Severance, includes Silo, Dark Matter, Foundation, Sugar, For All Mankind, Star City, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and more. One of its most impressive achievements is Slow Horses, the fantastic Gary Oldman spy series that often releases new seasons in under a year.

As annoying as price increases often are, if I had to cancel some services, Apple TV would probably be last on my list and not just because it’s a few bucks cheaper. So many great series and not much slop. But if things keep going higher and higher, there is a limit of frog-boiling we will reach here.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.