Apple TV execs: No plans for ad-supported tier or to buy Warner Bros. Discovery

Apple TV executives have “no plans” to introduce ads to the streaming service, resisting—for now—a strategy that has fueled growth for competitors. This comes from Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services, in an interview with Screen International.
Another path to expansion is increasing subscribers. Amid reports that Warner Bros. Discovery may explore a sale, speculation arises about whether Apple could pursue growth via acquisition. However, the executives interviewed by Screen International appear focused on expanding Apple TV+ through original content.
Nothing at this time. … I don’t want to say no forever, but there are no plans. If we can stay aggressive with our pricing, it’s better for consumers not to get interrupted with ads. – Apple SVP Eddy Cue
Scharon Harding for Ars Technica:
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The comments follow reports over the years suggesting that Apple has been seeking knowledge on how to build a streaming ads business. Most recently, The Telegraph reported that Apple TV executives met with the United Kingdom’s ratings body, Barb, to discuss what tracking ads on Apple TV would look like. In 2023, Apple hired advertising exec Lauren Fry as head of video and Apple News ad sales.
For Apple, “aggressive” pricing has meant three price hikes since Apple TV’s 2019 launch and a current monthly subscription fee of $13. For comparison, Netflix starts at $18 per month without ads, and Disney+ is $19/month without ads.
Cue and the other Apple executives interviewed for Screen International’s article didn’t discuss revenue or profits or specify how many subscribers Apple TV has (Cue did say that Apple TV is “growing faster” and has more viewers with “more viewing hours in this past year than” ever before). In March, The Information, citing two anonymous people “with direct knowledge of the matter,” reported that Apple TV costs Apple $1 billion per year. The publication’s sources claimed the service had about 45 million subscribers…
[As for Warner Bros. Discovery considering a sale], “We’re building an all-original services; we’re not building on the back of pre-existing IP or library,” Jamie Erlicht, one of Apple’s heads of worldwide video, said.
More directly, when asked if Apple might buy Warner Bros., A24, or Disney, Cue pointed out that Apple hasn’t historically done “a lot of major acquisitions.”
“We do very small acquisitions in general, not related to Apple TV, so I don’t see that happening because we like what we’re doing,” Cue said.

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MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote in March:
Apple TV+ is working. It’s just working slowly. Its quality over quantity strategy is sound and its library of high-value original content is becoming more substantial every day.
Breakouts hits that permeate the zeitgeist like “Ted Lasso” and “Severance” are doing most of the heavy lifting for getting the word out. Apple could certainly do a better job of promoting the service.
Apple TV+ could lose $1 billion annually until the first Tuesday after Infinity and Apple would be perfectly fine; it wouldn’t even notice.
Last year, Apple Inc. generated average revenue of $1.07 billion per day.
As for Warner Bros. Discovery:
The chance of Apple doing a deal like this is roughly 0%. – MacDailyNews, October 23, 2025

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