• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, April 10, 2025

Apple is not a modern digital-first company that offers much in the way discounts for its products -- iPhones, iPads, MacAir, MacBooks, and iMacs, for example.

Instead, it typically offers up devices with different levels of storage, RAM speed, screen size, and other factors, with varying pricing levels. It tends to stay at those differentiated pricing levels for the duration of the device's life.

But Apple appears to be looking to change some of this model -- at least for its premium streaming platform, Apple TV+. Under a rare promotion, it will offer new and returning subscribers the service of $2.99 a month for the first three months through April 24 (down from its regular price of $9.99 a month).

Now, many premium services like Hulu, Max, Paramount+ already do some of these price three-month promotions -- sometimes around the summer period or at the start of the fall TV season to boost subscriber totals.

This comes as a mature streaming platform marketplace seemingly looking at some cannibalization among large streamers. Perhaps Apple TV+ is seeing the success of “Ted Lasso” and now “Severance” as its wedge into boosting its subscriber base. In addition, there is the highly touted Seth Rogen comedy “The Studio.”

It should be noted that this comes as the Trump Administration's tariffs are a major cause for concern for streamers, with the fear that the economy will dip into a recession.

Meanwhile, streaming platforms continue to raise subscriber prices -- sometimes several times a year -- to help with rising production costs. Recently, platforms including Netflix and Disney+ have increased prices.

Apple must sense a strong opportunity to make some gains. Because of all this, Apple TV+ continues its push to position itself even more as a "premium" streamer.

But it will only goes so far. Apple TV+ is the lone premium streaming video-on-demand platform that does not have an advertising-supported streaming tier -- which for many doesn’t signal “high quality.”

So come and get your taste -- but just a little -- of some premium Hollywood-produced pixels. Then? Probably this: “Now we return to your regularly scheduled programming.”