Apple+ Will Reportedly Cost $9.99/Month at November Launch
Citing unnamed sources "familiar with the matter," Bloomberg reports that Apple's Apple+ subscription video service will debut by November with a monthly price of $9.99. The service is expected to launch with a small library of content that Apple will grow over several months. Customers will likely be able to sample the service through a free trial.
That unconfirmed news comes one day after Disney said its upcoming service, Disney+, will go for $6.99 per month and launch in November. Disney+ will feature new and existing content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, LucasFilm, National Geographic, and 21st Century Fox.
According to Bloomberg, Apple is undecided on whether or not it should release all the episodes of its original series at once, or post them weekly to keep watercooler buzz going. It might split the difference, releasing the first three episodes of a series at one time, then posting the rest weekly.
In related news, the Financial Times reported that Apple is budgeting $6 billion for original content, but without even anonymous attribution. That's grown from the original $1 billion budget, the news site said.
Apple+ will be available in over 150 countries. Apple is increasingly relying on services for its revenue, and projects it will take in $50 billion yearly in service fees by 2020.
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