Product Profile: Apple TV & Apple TV+
INDUSTRY
entertainment
Category
video streaming services
products Profiled
Apple TV+ video streaming service
Apple TV app
Apple TV device
H-Score
23
ranked 18th of 20 within the entertainment industry
ranked 72nd of 76 overall
product descriptions
Apple offers a suite of tools for watching video programming: Apple TV+, a subscription streaming service that offers content, the Apple TV app and an Apple TV hardware device.
Apple’s video streaming service, Apple TV+, allows subscribers to watch video content on a variety of devices (including televisions, computers, tablets and smartphones) on a 24/7 basis. Usage of the service is unlimited and charged at a flat rate. It offers more than 150 television shows and movies. Apple TV+ emphasizes original programming, with only a small catalog of additional movies and some live sports programming available to view.
The Apple TV app, which is available on iPhone, iPad, Apple laptop and desktop computers, the Apple TV device, and a variety of game consoles and smart TVs, serves as a video software hub through which users can stream video from: 1) a large variety of popular streaming services; 2) television channels (both live and recorded content); and 3) Apple TV+ users can also rent or buy individual movies, television series or individual episodes.
The Apple TV device is the interface between the Apple TV app and a television. Through the Apple TV app, it provides users the ability to stream content to their televisions.
product use
The Apple TV system provides a single, consistent interface for accessing all types of video content and for streaming it to virtually any device at any time. Most people use the product by sitting, for sustained periods of time, and watching content on a screen. Most users watch the service indoors most of the time and use the service sometimes alone and sometimes with friends or family. While using the service, the service consumes most, if not all, of the user’s attention.
Apple TV+ is estimated to have approximately 25 million global subscribers.(1) It is one of several competing video streaming services and most users who watch content on Apple TV+ also spend time watching content on other services as well.
who’s affected
The age distribution of streaming users in general have been estimated to break down as follows: 19% ages 2-17; 23% ages 18-34; 30% ages 35-54; and 9% ages 55 and over. In terms of race and ethnicity, streamers are estimated to be 60% White; 17% Black; 17% Hispanic; and 2% Asian.(2)
influence on health-related behaviors
EATING
slight to moderate negative influence
Television viewers frequently eat while watching TV and the foods they eat tend to be less healthy than foods consumed at meal times. Watching TV multiple hours a day has been linked to unhealthy dietary behaviors, and increased outcomes of diet-related diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.(3,4)
People tend to eat more mindlessly while watching TV because they’re distracted: food is less satisfying, and you miss cues that you’ve eaten enough.(5)
In Building H’s consumer research 64% of video streaming users (not specific to Apple TV or TV+) reported eating at least one meal per week and 59% of users reported snacking sometimes, usually or always, while watching streamed content. 37% of users who streamed more than 4 hours per day reported eating more than one meal per day and 49% of those users reported snacking usually or always, while watching.(6)
Some association between diet and television watching has been attributed to the presence of advertisements for unhealthy foods.(7,8) Most content on Apple TV is streamed without advertisements, although Apple is neutral in its position on advertisements — whether advertisements are included is up to the channel providing the content. Content on Apple TV+ is provided without advertisements.
PHYSICAL ACTVITY
moderate negative influence
Television watching is typically a sedentary activity, thus time spent watching television limits opportunities for physical activity. In addition, television viewing is an especially sedentary behavior, having a lower metabolic rate than other sedentary activities.(9) While a moderate amount of television watching would leave time for more active pursuits, Americans on average spend approximately five hours per day watching TV.(10) As a platform that offers access to virtually limitless content and creates a smooth user experience around viewing it, Apple TV facilitates and even expands opportunities for watching television.
Apple’s implementation of streaming video uses features that encourage greater use of the service. Most of the channels available on Apple TV, including Apple TV+, use flat subscription rates that set no maximum limit on viewing. Many channels use an autoplay feature that automatically loads next episodes, sometimes as quickly as five seconds, thus encouraging binge-watching. Apple TV does not set a system policy on autoplay. Apple TV+ episodes are typically autoplayed after 15 seconds. Apple has stated that it automatically stops autoplay of Apple TV+ episodes after three consecutive episodes or two hours of watch time(11), but Building H has not been able to verify this practice in user testing.(12) Autoplay is activated for children’s programming as well. Users do not have the option to disable the autoplay feature, either at the system level for Apple TV or for Apple TV+.
Apple does enable users to set limits on daily screen time by app (including Apple TV and other video streaming apps) and set specific downtime periods across all of its devices – except on Apple TV. It’s not clear how many users take advantage of these settings to limit their video streaming.
Sleeping
moderate negative influence
Late-night television viewing negatively affects sleep in two ways: 1) by offering a competitive alternative to sleep; and 2) through the bright, blue spectrum light of the screens that has been shown to suppress the production of melatonin, a hormone that signals the onset of the sleep cycle.(13)
Building H’s consumer research found that 55% of video streaming users (not specific to Apple TV or TV+) reported that watching TV or movies caused them to lose some sleep at least once a week on average, with 37% reporting that they got less sleep for this reason two or more times a week. Fifteen (15) percent reported their sleep being affected four or more nights a week.(14)
Apple TV and TV+ encourage binge-watching (which can compete with sleep) through the use of autoplay.
While Apple’s operating systems for iPhones and iPads have a bedtime mode setting that allows users to specify a regular bedtime (and then modifies their systems to gently discourage device usage during those times), bedtime mode is not available on the Apple TV device.
Apple TV and TV+ might also influence sleep indirectly through their influences on physical activity and time spent outdoors, as both of those behaviors are positively correlated with better sleep.
- Enable users to set a bedtime mode, as with iOS and Android, such that they can specify the hours when they hope to go to sleep and then respect those hours by making the user choose affirmatively to watch new episodes after the set bedtime.
- Adapt recommendation algorithms to promote less intense programming in the hour prior to the user’s set bedtime.
- On the Apple TV hardware platform, gradually block the blue light coming from the TV screen as sunset approaches.
- Block services from the Apple TV and iOS app stores that default to autoplay or that don’t offer bedtime mode (or integrate with Apple’s bedtime mode).
Engaging Socially
neutral influence
Television watching can be either a solo or a social activity. Building H’s consumer research found that 36.1% of streaming users (not specific to Apple TV or TV+) reported watching with others at least 75% of the time, 27% reported sometimes watching with others and 37% reported watching with others less than 25% of the time.(15) These results are consistent with other research that found Americans split their time evenly between watching alone or watching with others.(16)
Watching television alone clearly competes with social activity, but watching with significant others, family and friends may enhance opportunities for engagement.
Apple offers SharePlay, a feature to support social viewing.(17) With SharePlay, users can set up FaceTime video calls with friends and watch streaming video from selected channels on Apple TV. We do not have information on how many people use the SharePlay feature.
Apple recently added the capability to make FaceTime calls from Apple TV.(18)
- Promote and/or make SharePlay more prominent.
- Offer guest passes for Apple TV+ subscribers to use to watch (using SharePlay) with non-subscribing friends.
- Provide discounts on movie or show rentals if viewed with others through SharePlay.
Getting Outdoors
moderate to strong negative influence
As most viewing takes place indoors, time watching television competes with time spent outdoors.
- Shift away from encouraging binge-watching.
Notes
Brian Welk. As Apple Services Cross 1 Billion Paid Subs, Still No Tally of TV+ Members. IndieWire. August 4, 2023.
Sean Nyberg. Report: Age and Racial Demographics Of Disney+ and Hulu Users Compared To All Streamers. The DisInsider. August 22, 2021.
Georgina Cairns et al. Systematic reviews of the evidence on the nature, extent and effects of food marketing to children. A retrospective summary. Appetite. Volume 62, (March 2013), pp. 209-215.
Ahmad Alghadir et al. Television Watching, Diet and Body Mass Index of School Children in Saudi Arabia. Pediatrics International. Volume 58, Issue 4 (April 2016), pp. 290-294.
Janna Smith and Tanya Ditschun. Controlling satiety: how environmental factors influence food intake. Trends in Food Science & Psychology. Volume 20, Issues 6–7 (July 2009), pp. 271-277.
Steve Downs. A Survey of Modern Life: Food; Delivery Apps, Meal Kits, Groceries and Cooking Dinner. Building H on Medium. January 20, 2022
J.L. Harris et al. Priming effects of television food advertising on eating behavior. Health Psychology. Volume 28, Issue 4 (2009), pp. 404–413.
Cairns et al. (2013)
Barbara Ainsworth et al. Compendium of Physical Activities: Classification of Energy Costs of Human Physical Activities. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. Volume 25, Issue 1 (January 1993), pp. 71-80.
The Nielsen Company. Connectivity is driving how Americans are engaging with TV. Nielsen website, accessed June 22, 2023.
Apple. Direct communication, April 2022.
Building H user testing, November 2023.
Matthew Walker. Why We Sleep. Scribner (2018), pp. 267-270.
Steve Downs. A Survey of Modern Life: Sleep; New Data on American Sleeping Patterns. Building H on Medium. May 25, 2021.
Carlo Martinez. A Survey of Modern Life: Entertainment. Building H on Medium. May 4, 2021.
When You Watch, Are You Alone? Radio & Television Business Report. January 15, 2019.
SharePlay powers new ways to stay connected and share experiences in FaceTime. Apple Newsroom website, November 18, 2021.
Sofia Blum. How to make a FaceTime call from your Apple TV 4K. CNBC. October 16, 2023.