- Apple’s new video streaming service, Apple TV Plus, will launch on November 1 at a price of ₹99 per month.
- Apple TV Plus monthly subscription in India is 72% cheaper than the US subscription that costs $4.99.
- Non-Apple device users can also access the service via Amazon’s Fire TV Stick.
In the US, a monthly subscription to Apple TV Plus will cost $4.99 (₹358) but in India it will only cost ₹99 ($1.38) — that’s 72% cheaper.
Apple TV’s aggressive pricing is also mindful of the fact that Disney+ is slated to go live the same month on November 12 at $6.99 per month. In India, Disney’s content will be available through Hotstar at no extra charge since Hotstar is a subsidiary of Star India, which, in turn, is owned by Disney.
It’s emulates Spotify’s strategy when it launched in India earlier this year. A monthly subscription to the music streaming service costs ₹199 versus $9.99 (₹700) in the US. Apple Music undercut that as well with a monthly subscription pegged at ₹99.
Apple TV Plus’ monthly subscription is cheaper than other players already present and popular in the market like Hotstar Premium, Amazon Prime and Netflix.
Amazon Prime, the cheapest of the three, costs ₹129 per month. But it’s unlikely to lose its popularity since it comes bundled with a subscription to Amazon Music.
Hotstar, who recently increased its subscription prices, costs ₹299 month — thrice the price of Apple TV Plus.
The fact that Apple’s streaming service is cheaper than Netflix should come as no surprise though. Netflix is currently the most expensive streaming service in India prices that start at ₹499 per month for single screen viewership.
Netflix does offer a mobile only plan at ₹129 but that — again — is restricted to a single screen and exclusively for smartphones.
| Service | Subscription per month |
| Apple TV Plus | ₹ 99 |
| Zee5 | ₹ 99 |
| Sony LIV | ₹ 99 |
| Eros Now Premium | ₹ 99 |
| Eros Now Plus | ₹ 49 |
| Amazon Prime | ₹ 129 |
| Hotstar Premium | ₹ 299 |
| Netflix | Starting at ₹ 499 per month |
| ALTBalaji | ₹ 34 (at a quarterly subscription of ₹100) |
| MX Player | Free |
| Voot | Free |
You don't necessarily need an iPhone or an Apple device for Apple TV Plus
One of the main barriers for Apple, in any market, has been that its services are usually restricted to within the Apple universe. You normally need an iPhone, iPad, or Mac to fully enjoy what Apple has to offer.
But, when it comes to Apple TV Plus, users will also have access to the service via the Amazon Fire TV Stick thanks to the partnership between the two companies.
And, if you are thinking about picking up any new Apple device in the coming months — the company is offering one year of free subscription with every new purchase of an iPad, iPhone, Mac or Apple TV.
Apple TV Plus Shows
A few of the trailers of Apple’s new TV shows like For All Mankind, Dickinson and The Morning Show were released during the WWDC event. According to the company, they have cumulatively been viewed over 100 million times.
Apple also debuted the trailer for See during the event starring the Game of Thrones star, Jason Mamosa.
"Our mission for Apple TV Plus is to bring you the best original stores from the most creative minds in television and film," said CEO of Apple Tim Cook during the launch event.
Apple isn’t afraid to spend
Apple had earlier set aside $1 billion for original content. But, according to the Financial Times, that budget has now ballooned to $6 billion.
Services has been a big revenue generator for Apple this past year. During the June quarter, Apple hit a new record will all-time high revenue of $11.5 billion from services alone — a yearly growth of 13%.
"Our strong services performance was broad-based; we set new all-time records for AppleCare, music, cloud services and our app store search ad business and achieved a new third quarter revenue record for the App Store," said Cook during the earnings call.
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