Not log ago, we were celebrating Apple TV+’s success as its original shows got nominations for the SAG awards and now the new online movie streaming service is said to have surpassed the likes of Disney+ and even Hulu which had been in the game for quite a bit.

While the Tech giant never revealed exactly how many subscribers it had gained since inception back in November 2019, it’s said to have continued to swim in an ocean of subscribers whose count according to The Wall Street Journal is around 33.6 million world wide.

Despite being just a few months old, the numbers of subscribers the Apple TV+ is able to rake in places it right above the likes of Hulu and the Disney+. As for the Disney+ service, it’s only available in a few selected countries and it’s also new in the game. The report has Hulu running with 32.8 million users while Disney+ has 23.2 million.

We might deduce that the Apple TV+ could rake in such a huge number because of Apple’s method of attracting people to the service via the sales of it’s iPhone and other hardware last year. While the actual numbers or say the official numbers is yet to be revealed, an Apple pundit, John Gruber believes that the free access to the service upon the purchase of an Apple’s hardware might be the reason for the fast growth of the service.

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 yearlong free subscription. Apparently, a lot.

John Gruber

Placing the Apple TV+ right above Hulu means there is a lot of subscribers involved which we do not know the numbers officially. Meanwhile its worth noting that the Apple TV+ is just $4.99 (NG ₦ 1,808 / SAR 71.89) which means most people won’t mind paying for it eventually and with better shows coming to the service, it might make sense that fans are tuning in and wanting to enjoy the Apple’s ecosystem to the fullest.