AppleTV+ has less than 20 million subscribers in the US and Canada as of July, according to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
Apple used its weak subscriber numbers to argue to the union that it falls under production contracts that allow “smaller streaming services with less than 20 million subscribers” to pay lesser rates to production crew.
An unnamed rep from the IATSE said the pay gap represented a “meaningful difference”, meaning that top-tier Apple shows such as Reese Witherspoon’s The Morning Show, and Ted Lasso, pay their crew much less than rival Netflix and Disney+ productions.
The source also told New York Post that these contracts were “outdated” and introduced in 2009 in order to launch streaming TV as an alternative to network and cable TV. Apple is “taking advantage of this provision” despite spending a whopping US$15m per episode of The Morning Show.
