This links to a Wall Street Journal story about the fact that two-thirds of Amazon Prime’s content is user-uploaded, and a lot of it is (unsurprisingly) sketchy. Interesting.

But what caught my eye was this graphic halfway down the page, showing “Q4 2019 U.S. customer base by service”, sourced to Ampere Analysis. Their numbers, in millions:

Netflix: 61.3 Amazon Prime: 42.2 Apple TV+: 33.6 Hulu: 31.8 Disney+: 23.2

If that’s even close to accurate I’d say Apple TV+ is a roaring success. Yes, of course, surely most of those customers are using it free of charge for the first year. But that’s the point of this “buy any Apple device, get a free year of TV+” promotion. Apple wants people to take advantage of it — it’s the answer to the question of how you launch a paid streaming service with no content other than 11 original shows. Make Apple TV+ a habit now, get paid later. Apple can afford to be patient.

I’ve been curious how many people who qualify for TV+ know about it, and realize just how easy Apple’s TV app makes it to start your year-long free subscription. Apparently, a lot.

It’s worth noting that Disney+ didn’t launch until November 12, halfway through the quarter; I expect Disney+ to eventually take the number one spot on this list.

(Apple News link for News+ subscribers.)

Update: Neil Cybart thinks the Apple TV+ number is way too high, and thinks Ampere Analysis got the number simply by estimating how many people in the U.S. qualify for the free year, not how many people have signed up.

★ Thursday, 23 January 2020