Apple struggling streaming service Apple TV+ has been forced to buy space on a popular US remote as consumers snub the Apple TV+ Offering.
Desperate to compete with Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Apple paid to get a button on the Roku remote that already has buttons for their competitors.
Roku revealed the button on its website earlier this week without formally announcing the addition of the Apple TV+ button.
A Roku spokesman declined to comment. Apple didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Apple’s Roku play is “shocking” development, and a signal that the iPhone maker has finally realized it “can’t just be within the walled garden of Apple,” said LightShed Partners analyst Rich Greenfield.
“Nobody ever would have expected this,” Greenfield told The New York Post.
“The thought that Apple, rather than create a device that’s going to replace Roku is now buying a button next to Netflix or next to Disney+ just shows you that as they get into the content business, they need to be everywhere.”
Apple may be keeping silent, insiders say, “Because the move stinks of desperation”.
Apple has realised that, tens of thousands of free trials of the questionable Apple service, are set to expire shortly.
When Apple launched the service in 2019, anyone who bought an Apple gadget got a year of Apple TV+ for free.
During the pandemic, the offer was extended twice. But next month, the bulk of its initial subscribers will see their service end and Apple is not confident that they will renew their subscriptions.
A recent research study by MoffettNathanson of nearly 19,500 customers revealed that a whopping 62 percent of Apple TV+ subscribers are still on the free promotional offer.
Nearly 30 percent said they don’t plan to resubscribe once the promo expires, while another 30 percent said they plan to renew at the $4.99 monthly price. The rest said they were unsure what they would do.
“As always, we wonder what Apple TV+ does to stand out in an increasingly crowded field,” wrote MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson. “We see AppleTV+ as still sputtering versus peers.”
According to analyst Rich Greenfield, Apple’s decision to buy a Roku button looks like an attempt for the service to “clearly brand itself” and give consumers the understanding that by sitting next to Netflix on the remote, that it is a content provider, too.
It would also benefit from Roku’s reach, which includes over 53 million active accounts, according to its most recent earnings report.
Roku is rumoured to charge a hefty fee for the real estate on its remote controls.
