Apple TV+ has gotten a bit closer to HBO Max in terms of global market share, citing considerable growth over the last five months.
SPAIN - 2021/07/13: In this photo illustration a close-up of a hand holding a TV remote control seen displayed in front of the Apple TV+ logo.
As reported by 9To5Mac, Apple TV+'s market share climbed up to 5.6%. This is up from a previous low of below 5%, which Apple's streaming app reached between July and September of last year. Compared to HBO Max's 7% market share, this is quite close-but perhaps only time will tell if the gap will only get smaller.
Furthermore, the market share for Apple TV+ is still way below that of other bigger competitors like Disney+ (17.6%) or erstwhile industry leader Netflix. Nevertheless, the streaming service did get enough new users to bump its numbers up, most of which were drawn in by new shows and new seasons of existing ones launched late last year.
This includes the likes of "Invasion," "Foundation," and season 2 of "The Morning Show," which is quite well-received on Rotten Tomatoes right now with a 91% audience score (notwithstanding the lukewarm critic score of 61%).
Apple has been "aggressively" investing into TV+ in recent times. But the closing of the gap between it and HBO Max is perhaps not caused by the Cupertino giant's efforts, but rather the continuing decline of HBO Max as a whole.
While the global numbers for it are good, HBO Max has been on the downward trend in the United States-losing 1.8 million subscribers after its removal from Amazon Prime Video last September, according to Television Business International.
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 29: Kevin Reilly, Content Officer of HBO Max and President of TNT, TBS, & TruTV, speaks onstage at HBO Max WarnerMedia Investor Day Presentation at Warner Bros. Studios on October 29, 2019 in Burbank, California.
For now, AppleTV+'s biggest problem, as per the original 9To5Mac report, is not bringing in new subscribers. It's the fact that they can't keep these people subscribed for long. They might come in and sign up, but months later, they cancel their memberships in search for new content elsewhere. To fight this off, Apple has said they want to release at least one new content every week, though it hasn't been put to test yet.
Apple TV+ Is Still Lagging WAY Behind Giants
All this talk of growth, however small, is good for Apple. But if they really want to catch up with the industry's big dogs, they need to do even more.
It's quite obvious that you know who those big dogs are. Netflix is still the king of the industry with around 222 million subscribers worldwide, according to Cleveland.com. And most of what the platform gained came from outside the US and Canada, further cementing its global popularity.
Netflix users in the UK and Ireland should expect an increase in subscription fees soon.
Second in the list is Amazon Prime Video, whose subscribers are all members of the e-commerce giant's Amazon Prime club (175 million). This is followed by Disney+ with 118.1 million, ViacomCBS (which includes Paramount+ and Showtime) with 46.7 million, and Hulu with 43.8 million.
For now, it's all about combining both quantity and quality for these streaming services. Netflix is still king for its wide variety of both old and new series, featuring classic shows and original IPs, as well as films specials and documentaries that you just wouldn't find anywhere. And this is despite the platform raising its prices for the year.
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Written by RJ Pierce
