Good news about Apple TV+ in South Africa

This comes after the company increased the monthly subscription price of Apple TV+ by 30% to $13 (R229), part of a push to generate more revenue from services.

In feedback to Bloomberg News, Apple said the fee increase took effect on Thursday for new subscribers in the U.S. and certain international markets.

Apple TV+ previously cost $10 (R176) per month in the U.S. The TV+ annual plan will remain $99 (R1,741), and the company isn’t changing its price for the Apple One bundle of services.

Apple has followed streaming peers in steadily increasing prices. However, unlike Netflix and Showmax, the TV+ service is offered in a single plan rather than in tiered packages.

Since launching in 2019, Apple TV+ has lagged behind rival services in subscriber count, but its original programming continues to earn accolades.

Last month, the company garnered 81 Emmy nominations, with Severance picking up 27 for its second season.

Apple has not revealed subscriber or revenue figures for TV+. However, its services business has been a bright spot in recent years, with revenue jumping  13% to $27.4 billion (R482 billion) last quarter.

Apple TV+ launched in South Africa on 1 November 2019 and was initially priced at R84.99 per month.

The only time Apple has increased the price of its video streaming service in South Africa was in October 2022, when it also increased the monthly fee of Apple Music.

At the time, the company said its music subscription price hike was due to increased licensing costs and that artists and songwriters would earn more money.

In explaining the TV+ increase, Apple said the service was introduced “at a very low price” because it started with just a few shows and movies.

It’s now “home to an extensive selection of award-winning and broadly acclaimed series, feature films, documentaries, and kids and family entertainment from the world’s most creative storytellers,” Apple said.

Android expansion

In February 2025, Apple expanded TV+ to Android phones for the first time to boost its streaming subscribers.

Apple had previously reserved the TV+ service for its own operating system and third-party TV platforms like Roku.

The move marked the rare occasion when Apple offered services on Google’s Android, its biggest competitor in smartphone software.

Though Apple provides its Music service as an Android app, it typically tries to keep customers within the bounds of its own product ecosystem.

Bloomberg reported that taking this step suggests that Apple is trying to boost the appeal of TV+ and challenge streaming services like Netflix and Disney+.

In addition to launching TV+ on Google’s smartphone platform, Apple will allow users to access its MLS Season Pass on the Android TV+ app.

Apple launched that service, which lets fans watch Major League Soccer matches, in February 2023.

Issued on MyBroadband by Jan Vermeulen | https://mybroadband.co.za/news/broadcasting/608009-good-news-about-apple-tv-in-south-africa.html