Apple TV+ has been available since November 2019, but it reached only 3% of the streaming platforms’ market share in the US during Q4 2020. Netflix co-founder and former CEO Marc Randolph said today that Apple’s streaming service has “no excuses” for lagging behind competitors as the company has enough resources to offer a better platform.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Randolph was asked about how he sees Netflix’s competitors. While he praised Disney+ for having over 86 million subscribers in just over a year of operation, the former Netflix CEO suggested that Apple could do a better job with Apple TV+.
Randolph criticized Apple by suggesting that the company should invest in more reasons to get people to pay for Apple TV+ subscriptions rather than offering “giveaways.” The report mentions that 62% of Apple TV+ subscribers are on the free trial period, and at least 29% of those users have no plans to pay for a subscription once the free trial expires.
“Right now they have the highest churn rate. You can’t keep replacing people, you’ve got to give them a reason to stay,” said Randolph. He also argued that Apple should be more radical in some ways to make Apple TV+ into a real competitor to other platforms like Netflix and Disney+.
If Apple spent one quarter as much time on content as they do on giveaways they really could play. […] They have no excuse [and] they’re still not in it with both feet. They really have to do the entrepreneurial thing and walk up to the edge of the cliff and jump.
Recent research from JustWatch obtained by 9to5Mac revealed that Apple TV+ had only 3% of market share in the fourth quarter of 2020 in the US, ranking far behind competitors like Netflix, Disney+, and even Peacock. As Apple TV+ has only original movies and shows, the catalog is remarkably small compared to its competitors.
Apple has once again extended the trial period for current Apple TV+ subscribers, who will now have free access to the streaming platform until July 2021. Anyone who buys a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV can get a 1-year free subscription to Apple TV+, which can be considered an attempt to attract more users to the platform.
You can check out the full interview with Marc Randolph on Yahoo Finance’s website.
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