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Cook hails Apple TV+’s ‘rousing start’

Apple TV+ original The Morning Show

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said the tech giant’s subscription TV service has got off to a “rousing start” but remained quiet on official viewing or subscription figures.

Cook pointed to the critical acclaim recent original Little America has received, as well as the awards for The Morning Show, as evidence Apple TV+ could be deemed successful so far.

Apple’s chief financial officer, Luca Maestri, said that Apple TV+ has not had a material impact on Apple’s financial results in the last quarter.

However, Maestri added: “We expect that over time it will start contributing to the growth of the services business.”

The company has not yet revealed any official viewing or subscription figures for Apple TV+, which launched on November 1 last year.

However, according to data from research firm Ampere Analysis cited in a Wall Street Journal report, Apple TV+ has 33.6 million subscribers in the US alone.

This figure will have been boosted by Apple gifting one-year Apple TV+ trials to consumers who purchased a new Apple device after September 10.

In comparison, Disney+, which launched on November 12 last year, had a reported 24 million subscribers in the US by the end of 2019.

Meanwhile, Apple TV+’s original series accounted for six of the top 10 digital original debuts with US audiences in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to Parrot Analytics.

Netflix’s The Witcher and Disney+’s The Mandalorian were the top debuts by far, but Apple TV+’s Truth Be Told, Servant, See, For All Mankind, Dickinson and The Morning Show were all in the top 10.

Parrot Analytics is set to reveal more about the performances and market shares of Apple TV+ and Disney+ in its upcoming 2019 Global TV Demand Report.

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