"Severance" returned for a second season to major buzz and awards attention, "Ted Lasso" remains the platform's biggest cultural crossover, and Apple pushed into theatrical with "F1" as a genuine box-office play rather than a streaming-first release — yet Apple TV+ is still reportedly the smallest major streamer by subscribers despite outspending services with far larger audiences. Apple has shown no public sign of pulling back the budget even with those losses persisting year after year.
We think that's only sustainable because Apple doesn't actually need streaming profits — TV+ functions as a halo for the hardware ecosystem and an Oscars-credibility play ("CODA" winning Best Picture still matters to that calculus) rather than a standalone business. The real test is whether Apple's leadership patience survives a prolonged stretch without another "Severance"-level hit, because every other major studio's streaming arm has eventually had its budget reined in once Wall Street started asking the same questions investors ask everyone else.