We’ve seen several rumors over the last few years that Apple has been working to bring at least some sort of advertising to its Apple TV+ streaming service. Those rumors could be coming true, at least for UK viewers.
The Cupertino firm has reportedly held discussions with the UK-based Broadcaster’s Audience Research Board (BARB).
Apple has held talks with the UK’s TV ratings body in the latest sign that the tech giant is planning to introduce adverts on its streaming service.
The Telegraph has learned that executives met with Barb in recent weeks to discuss potential options for tracking adverts on Apple TV+.
Currently, BARB is owned by and provides viewing statistics for all four main networks in the UK: the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Fox-owned Sky. The organization also provides Apple with viewing figures for Apple TV+ programming.
The new meeting indicates that Apple is working to offer an ad-supported tier to Apple TV+. Apple held similar meetings with US ratings organizations in 2022, but nothing has come of those so far.
Apple has done some limited advertising on Apple TV+, but it has so far been limited to live sports events, like Friday Night Baseball and Major League Soccer coverage.
Word of a possibly ad-supported tier of service for Apple TV+ comes in the wake of news that Apple is tightening the purse strings on its new Apple TV+ projects after seeing only limited success after investing more than $20 billion in its original programming.
The newfound budgetary restraint on Apple’s part comes after the streaming service has struggled to gain a significant share of the streaming market, grabbing a mere 0.2% of TV viewership since its 2019 debut, failing to compete with other streaming services, such as Netflix, which currently has an 8% share of steaming viewers. This means Apple TV+ has fewer eyes on its content in an entire month than Netflix draws on a single viewing day.
This is despite investing a huge amount of money in original content, while also becoming a critical darling and receiving numerous award nominations.