A new report claims that Apple has hired Lauren Fry in order to help build "a video advertising business," revealing the company's plan to bring adverts to its Apple TV Plus streaming platform.
A new report says Fry, a TV, and digital video advertising executive, joins as Apple seeks "to give the streaming service more revenue to pay for a wider array of programming."
According to The Information, Apple wants to use its broadcasts of Major League Baseball and MLS soccer, which began over the weekend, to build an ad sales business on the platform.
Just the beginning
The report claims that Fry's title is unclear, but that ads on its sports broadcasts "is likely just the beginning for Apple," citing executives who say Apple is expected to eventually run adverts alongside its own TV shows and movies. There is also talk of an ad-supported Apple TV Plus tier that would let people access the service at a lower price if they watch adverts, a bit like Netflix.
A report in October 2022 revealed that Apple has been "quietly" pushing to sell video ad inventory on Apple TV Plus and that the company was in preliminary talks with agencies about selling advertising space around both its original content and sports broadcasts.
The company recently announced an exclusive streaming deal that will see MLS broadcast on Apple TV Plus for the next 10 years, with customers paying between $12.99-$14.99 a month to stream the games, live studio content around matches, replays, archive programming, and more.
While Apple TV Plus remains so cheap, it doesn't really make sense for the company to offer an ad-supported tier to entice users, given it only costs $7 a month. For that, you get 4K HDR streaming across all of your Apple devices and can watch hit shows like Severance season two and Ted Lasso from anywhere. Plans for an ad-supported tier could signal a future where the full price of Apple TV Plus is significantly higher than it currently is.
