Apple TV+ has been a middling success since launch, but even at just $5/month it’s a hard sell for those already suffering subscription fatigue. And though Apple has produced a few standout shows, its originals-only catalog still pales in comparison to the might of Netflix or Disney+.
But it looks as though Apple is branching out in an attempt to become a more complete cable-cutting service. Subscribers in the US now have the option to pay an extra $10/month to access content libraries from CBS All Access and SHOWTIME in addition to Apple Originals.
That’s around half the price of signing up to those services separately, but the bundle is only available to Apple TV+ subscribers, sweetening the pot for those on the fence. Those additional ‘channels’ will be accessible through the Apple TV app anywhere it’s available, and it works across up to six Apple IDs through Family Sharing.
CBS All Access provides ad-free, on-demand content including Star Trek: The Lower Decks, The Twilight Zone, Big Brother, and SpongeBob Squarepants – plus a live stream of your local CBS station and its sports coverage. SHOWTIME originals include Billions, Homeland, and Shameless.
This particular deal is only available in the US, but it certainly signals Apple’s willingness to bulk out its TV+ service with discounted content from other networks. If this first deal is a success, we’d expect to see many more similar bundles roll out around the world in the future.
Meanwhile, rumors continue to bubble away that Apple will release its own Amazon Prime-style services package. Allegedly, such a bundle would be called ‘Apple One’ and combine Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, and iCloud storage for a discounted prince. Here’s hoping.