During the latest Apple Special Event held at the Steve Jobs Theater, the company has revealed the Apple TV Plus release date and pricing. The service will be available for $4.99 per month and launches on November 1, 2019. The price is for a family subscription, being highlighted that every family member will be able to watch the shows for the price of a single movie rental.
The Apple TV Plus will release in over 100 countries, and more shows are coming after launch. Even better, when you purchase a new iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, you get a whole year of Apple TV Plus entirely free.
ALSO: Switch VR headset patented by Nintendo
The $4.99 price point places the Apple TV Plus streaming service comfortably below its main competitor Netflix, which is currently available for a $12.99 monthly subscription. Disney+ is also going to launch in November, with a monthly subscription of $6.99; however, it will feature a rich backlog of shows and movies that Apple doesn’t have.
Apple is clearly interested in promoting its streaming platform by investing in some high-profile names. Hollywood actor Jason Momoa, known for his role on Aquaman, is the leading man on the sci-fi post-apocalyptic series See. Featuring an impressive budget of nearly $15 million per episode, See is boasting similar figures to the ones seen in the latest seasons of HBO’s television series Game of Thrones.
Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell, and Jennifer Aniston’s The Morning Show is another of Apple TV Plus’ key series, chronicling the lives of journalists who wake up early in the morning to deliver news across the country.
More shows will steadily follow after launch, as Apple has revealed that it has increased its budget from $1 billion to over $6 billion exclusively for original Apple TV Plus shows and movies.
While Apple TV Plus will need some time to evolve into a major streaming service capable of competing with the likes of Netflix, the attractive pricing and free year of service are factors that could result in a successful launch.