Apple TV Plus is a ‘major shot across the bow’ to Netflix and Disney. Here’s what Wall Street is saying about Apple’s streaming ambitions. – AppleTV 4 Jailbreak (appletv4jailbreak.com)
Associated Press
- Apple’s product events have become increasingly important as the company has been forced to navigate slowing iPhone sales.
- This year’s September keynote, on Tuesday, featured a trio of new iPhones, a new iPad, an updated Apple Watch, and a shockingly low price tag of $5 a month for Apple TV Plus.
- The pricing announcement for Apple TV Plus sent shares of rivals Netflix, Disney, and Roku lower.
- Here’s what Wall Street analysts are saying about Apple’s streaming service, and what it could mean for the company’s future.
- Visit the Markets Insider homepage for more stories.
Apple’s September keynote shed more light on the company’s plan to jump into the streaming wars.
While the event on Tuesday revealed a trio of new iPhones, a new iPad, and an updated Apple Watch, perhaps the most significant announcement was the pricing of its upcoming streaming service.
Apple TV Plus will cost $5 a month, undercutting competitors such as Netflix and Hulu and upcoming offerings from Disney, AT&T, and Comcast. Apple also said customers who purchase a new Mac, iPhone, or Apple TV would receive a free year of the service.
The news sent shares of Netflix, Disney, and Roku sliding, with Apple’s pricing seen as a clear challenge to the future of other streaming competitors.
Wall Street analysts have spent months speculating how Apple TV Plus would fit into the tech juggernaut’s larger hardware-driven business. With the highly anticipated reveal of its pricing and the announcement that new customers will get one year free with a device purchase, analysts are forming a more definitive picture of Apple’s content strategy.
Here’s what Wall Street’s top analysts are saying about Apple’s streaming ambitions, and what it could mean for the future of the company.
Apple
“The key highlight from the Apple Event on 9/10 is more aggressive (lower) pricing on AppleTV+ than we previously expected,” Bernie McTernan, an analyst at Rosenblatt Securities, said in a note to clients on Wednesday.
He continued: “We believe Apple is positioning AppleTV+ as a tool in subscriber acquisition to its ecosystem as opposed to another source of high margin service revenue.”
Wedbush: “The pricing of Apple’s streaming TV service at $4.99 per month is a ‘show stopper.'”
Apple
Price target: $245
Rating: Outperform
“The pricing of Apple’s streaming TV service at $4.99 per month is a ‘show stopper’ and a major shot across the bow at the likes of Netflix and Disney among others,” the Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in a research note to clients on Wednesday.
Ives added: “In our opinion with an installed base of 900 million active iPhones worldwide we believe Cook & Co. have an opportunity to gain 100 million consumers on the streaming front in…
