• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, Yesterday

Stories keep coming about Apple expanding its vision for selling ads. But it seems to be a slow process -- like growing an apple on a tree.

Media buyers with a video ad messaging-focus are left to wonder about when Apple TV (formerly Apple TV+) will have an ad-supported option.

Apple's Head of Services Eddie Cue said in late November 2025 that there are no plans yet. But he did add the "never say never" qualifier.

Apple is now moving toward bringing advertising to Apple Maps. Currently, the biggest source of existing ad revenue comes from app developers buying advertising on the App Store. Analysts estimate that is around $5 billion to $10 billion.

But bigger still is Apple's ad-related revenue-sharing model with Google, which gives Apple around $20 billion to remain the default search engine for all Apple devices. Apple News is another source, but still a small place for advertising.

Video? From Apple TV? Yes. But that is small potatoes.

Currently, there is integrated sponsorship of some core basic sports TV packages --- Major League Soccer and “Friday Night Baseball.” Future live sports will include Formula 1. But all this is fairly limited inventory -- not all enough to compete with the likes of Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, etc.

Should it seem possible now to focus on advertising around regular-looking popular Apple TV entertainment shows "Severance," "Pluribus," "Ted Lasso," "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,""Shrinking" and "Your Friends & Neighbors"?

In the future -- but apparently not now.

Even then, Apple has been very selective when it comes to starting original content, and buying libraries of older programming.

Scale may be a major issue -- to have enough gross ratings points to make it appealing for advertisers to buy significant media packages from one streamer.

A low-cost Apple TV advertising option would give consumers a bit of incentive. Apple TV remains the long major premium streamer without an low cost advertising-supported option.

Apple projects it will grow advertising revenues to around $10 billion from its direct ad-sales efforts (not including its Google search partnership) -- from Maps, Mail, App Store and Siri.

Over the last 12 months (April 2025-April 2026) Apple has spent an estimated $55.7 million on national TV advertising to promote shows for its Apple TV.

This is small by comparison to other digital-first CTV platforms such as Amazon Prime Video ($289.1 million) and Netflix ($106.1 million).

Should we take this as a clue? It could be a future hint of where Apple’s advertising-selling intentions may be -- or not -- when it comes to premium video content of its streaming platform.

Apple TV, with its award-winning shows, may just want to grow organically -- earning a groundswell of consumer trust -- before moving to other business and consumer opportunities.