Apple TV Plus will launch Nov. 1 for $4.99 a month, and people who buy a new Apple gadget get to watch for a year free. The details about Apple's planned subscription service for exclusive original TV shows and movies were revealed at Apple's flagship iPhone event Tuesday, which is expected to unveil its iPhone 11 and show off other Apple products and services.
The service will have blanket seven-day free trial for anyone who wants to try it. But starting Tuesday, customers who purchase a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch or Mac get one year of Apple TV Plus free. Current Apple device owners aren't grandfathered in to the yearlong free subscription.
Apple named nine total titles that would be available at launch on Apple TV Plus. "All of these incredible shows for the price of a single movie rental," Cook said Tuesday on stage. "This is crazy."
Apple TV Plus will have a download option watch its originals offline. In addition, Apple TV Plus will be available to watch on competitor's devices too. Apple's TV app is available on smart TVs from Samsung, and it's supposed to become available this year on Roku, Amazon's Fire TV devices and smart TVs from Sony, LG and Vizio.
The company said "most" Apple TV Plus series will premiere with three episodes followed by one new episode weekly, while "full seasons of some series will be available all at once."
By comparison, Disney Plus, the highly anticipated streaming service from the entertainment giant, will launch Nov. 12 for $7 a month -- with a large library of movies and shows available immediately.
Streaming services based on cable networks, like Showtime or HBO Now, usually range between $9 to $15 a month. Smaller, niche streaming services often are priced at about $5 or a couple bucks.
And Netflix, the world's biggest subscription streaming service, prices its most popular plan at $13 a month in the US; it offers other tiers at $9 and $16 monthly rates.
Free trials are the industry standard: Most streaming video services offer introductory free periods for new members. But Apple's one-year free period for gadget owners is atypically long. But the tactic worked well for Apple Music -- Apple launched its music service with an extended, six-month free trial.
By: Joan E. Solsman (CNet).
Photo: News Week.
Review: FlagMarkets.