These streaming services are finally beginning to realise that they
can't "go it alone" and must share and co-operate ... but it's still
far too expensive and they'd get a much wider audience by creating
deals with regular free-to-air broadcast TV providers (or even Sky TV)
around the world.



Apple TV and Peacock Team up to Take on Netflix and Disney+
-----------------------------------------------------------
Apple and Peacock's joint streaming bundle marks a new front
in the streaming wars

While Apple's new Formula 1 deal is grabbing headlines among
sports fans, the company is also sweetening the pot on the
entertainment front with a new bundle that combines Apple TV
(formerly Apple TV+) and NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming
service for a lower monthly price.

According to Apple's Newsroom announcement, starting Monday,
October 20, customers in the US can subscribe to an Apple TV
and Peacock bundle for $14.99 per month for Peacock Premium,
or $19.99 per month for Peacock Premium Plus. That means
you're getting both services and a good breadth of content
for a price that's far more competitive with the two biggest
elephants in the room: Netflix and Disney+.

"There is no more perfect combination of entertainment
than the Apple TV and Peacock Bundle, with our
complementary content portfolios featuring the best
shows, movies, sports, and live events. With this
first-of-its-kind initiative with Apple, we're
redefining what the customer journey should be for a
streaming bundle with rich sampling and a smooth
sign-up process, and we're broadening the reach of
Peacock to even more audiences."

- Matt Strauss, Chairman, NBCUniversal Media Group


How the Pricing Breaks Down
Apple says the bundles offer savings of over 30% compared to
subscribing separately, but depending on how you do the math,
that may be an understatement. Peacock Premium (which,
despite the name, includes ads) now costs $10.99 monthly.
Peacock Premium Plus, which is mostly ad-free, is $16.99 per
month. Apple recently raised the monthly price of Apple TV to
$12.99, which brings the cost of subscribing to both services
separately up to $23.98 and $29.98, depending on which Peacock
tier you opt for.

That means the Apple TV and Peacock Premium bundle saves about
38% ($8.99 per month), while the Premium Plus option comes in
with a savings of just over 33% ($9.99 per month).


Bundling Beyond Apple One
Ordinarily, a bundle like this would make things complicated
for Apple One subscribers, since they already have Apple TV.
Thankfully, Apple anticipated this and is offering a 35%
discount on Peacock Premium Plus for Apple One Family and
Premier subscribers.

Xfinity customers may still find Comcast's StreamSaver bundle
the better deal, as it offers Apple TV, Peacock, and Netflix
for $15 per month. The catch is that these are Peacock Premium
and Netflix Standard with Ads, which include commercials, while
Apple TV remains ad-free, as always. Still, since that's the
same price as Apple's base Apple TV and Peacock bundle,
StreamSaver is essentially throwing in Netflix for free.


Annual Plans and the Retention Game
Apple hasn't said whether it will be offering annual pricing
for its new bundles. As things currently stand, Peacock's plans
are available as annual subscriptions for $109.99 and $169.99,
effectively offering a year of service for the price of 10
months. Apple has typically done the same, but has more recently
sweetened the deal by keeping its annual price unchanged at
$99.99 even after the monthly increase - effectively less than
eight months of the new rate.

While Apple didn't say anything about its new pricing strategy,
most analysts see it as a retention play. With an ebb and flow
of hits, Apple TV is likely more susceptible to "subscriber
churn" -?folks jumping on for a month or two and canceling after
they've binged a few shows. Making the annual price more
attractive encourages more folks to stick around.

The same logic applies to this new Apple TV and Peacock bundle.
Customers are more likely to stick around with two bundles
offering a broader variety of content, and the extra $3-5 per
month is still cheaper than paying for Peacock on its own and
hopping onto Apple TV for more than three or four months a year.


A Strategy to Stay Competitive
There's also a broader strategic angle involved. The new
partnership shows how smaller streaming players are teaming up to
provide competitive alternatives to giants like Netflix, Disney+,
and HBO Max. After all, Apple TV frequently wins for original
content, but its lack of the kind of content library found on
other services gives subscribers fewer reasons to stick around.

This Peacock partnership helps Apple fill that gap without the
need to engage in costly and complicated licensing deals, and
shows how collaboration could be the next phase in the streaming
wars.


Cross-Promotions and Free Previews
Apple and Peacock are also running a cross-promotion to whet
people's appetite for the new bundle by offering select shows on
each other's services. Peacock subscribers will be able to enjoy
"up to three episodes" of Stick, Slow Horses, Silo, The Buccaneers,
Foundation, Palm Royale, and Prehistoric Planet for free, while
Apple TV users can watch the same number of episodes from Peacock
shows, including Law & Order, Bel-Air, Twisted Metal, Love Island
Games, Happy's Place, The Hunting Party, and Real Housewives of
Miami.

Notably, Apple uses the phrase "Apple TV app users" here, rather
than "Apple TV subscribers," which suggests this content will be
free even to those who aren't paying for a subscription to either
service.



<https://www.idropnews.com/news/apple-tv-and-peacock-team-up-to-take-on-netflix-and-disney/254388/>






--- PyGate Linux v1.0
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)