is hoping people will make a dent in the Strategic Popcorn Reserve by bingeing its streaming TV and movies for free this weekend in what experts are calling a canny promotion.

The two-day offer this Saturday and Sunday is intended to give viewers a taste of whatB次元官网网址檚 behind the Apple paywall and get them hooked, ready to fork over $9.99 a month in the U.S.

Michael D. Smith, a professor of information technology and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, said the two-day window is not too short to ignore and not too long to satisfy all demand.

B次元官网网址淭his is not B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 going to let you binge-watch this over the course of three or four days or a week or a couple weeks and then maybe you wonB次元官网网址檛 subscribe next month,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭his is, B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 giving you two days to explore my catalog. And IB次元官网网址檓 hoping that youB次元官网网址檙e going to find something in there that maybe youB次元官网网址檒l binge. Maybe youB次元官网网址檒l have time to binge the first six episodes, but itB次元官网网址檚 so cool youB次元官网网址檝e got to come back and youB次元官网网址檙e going to be willing to subscribe to come back.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

While entertainment companies often use promotions and discounts to lure new customers, Apple TV+B次元官网网址檚 pitch has no catches, like entering personal info or credit card numbers. All you need is an Apple ID, which is free and which many people already have from the days of 99-cent song downloads.

What can you see behind the paywall? The Emmy-winning and B次元官网网址淭he Morning ShowB次元官网网址� and other buzzy series like B次元官网网址淪hrinking,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淪everance,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淏ad Sisters,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淒isclaimerB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淧resumed Innocent.B次元官网网址�

Movies include B次元官网网址淔ly Me to the Moon,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淭he Instigators,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淪pirited,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淕hosted,B次元官网网址� Palmer,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淣apoleonB次元官网网址� and

Smith suspects that by the end of the weekend, Apple will have lots of data to sharpen its approach to new customers and returning ones, like himself. Apple will learn, for example, what genres are hot, which shows attract viewers and how long people spend watching.

Smith will be logging in to watch B次元官网网址淭ed LassoB次元官网网址� with his son but also wants to check out B次元官网网址淪everanceB次元官网网址� with his daughter. Two days likely wonB次元官网网址檛 be enough to watch both to the end.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 kind of like a mall, right? IB次元官网网址檝e got an anchor tenant. For me, itB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址楾ed Lasso.B次元官网网址� That gets me to the mall. And once IB次元官网网址檓 at the mall, IB次元官网网址檓 going to wander around and discover some other stuff there. And theyB次元官网网址檙e hoping that the two days isnB次元官网网址檛 long enough for me to shop,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淢y guess itB次元官网网址檚 going to pay off.B次元官网网址�

There is some evidence that long bingeing widows donB次元官网网址檛 help streamers build customers. by Miguel Godinho de Matos and Pedro Ferreira for the at Carnegie Mellon found that binge-watching over several weeks reduces the post-trial likelihood of paid subscriptions.

AppleB次元官网网址檚 weekend deal is clearly an attempt to shake up its numbers. As of October 2024, it had an estimated 25 million subscribers, making it the eighth most popular streaming service by subscribers. Netflix, in No. 1, has 282.7 million.

B次元官网网址淎pple TV+ never really truly took off, even though they do have a series of really high-quality TV shows,B次元官网网址� says Bo B次元官网网址淏obbyB次元官网网址� Zhou, a business professor at the University of Maryland. B次元官网网址淭hey are trying to offer a promotional period to let a wider viewer base sample their content in the hope that some of them will be converted.B次元官网网址�

Other streamers are also offering deals, like HuluB次元官网网址檚 free 30-day trial, StarzB次元官网网址檚 $2-a-month plan or PeacockB次元官网网址檚 three-month trial for Samsung Galaxy owners. If viewers miss the Apple TV+ weekend offer, the streamer already has a free 7-day trial promotion going. It has lots of other offers though Target, Best Buy, Samsung and for buyers of Apple devices, too.

, a technology journalist who publishes the newsletter said the promotion seems to be part of a big push by Apple to up its subscribers. The streamer recently agreed to be distributed through Amazon and there are signals it may want to experiment with an ad-supported tier.

B次元官网网址淭hey really need to get their numbers up and need to get more people on board whatever way possible,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t may be just another way to test the waters of who would access their service if they didnB次元官网网址檛 have to pay for it.B次元官网网址�

Zhou has seen the industry change from single paid downloads to unlimited access to subscribers and anticipates a future with different tiers of subscribers B次元官网网址� say, one free episode for non-subscribers and a full season for diehard fans. Anything to get some buzz.

B次元官网网址淚 think the battle amongst tech giants is all about content differentiation,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址橦ow can I capture consumersB次元官网网址� attention?B次元官网网址� Because attention is the most valuable asset of anyone.B次元官网网址�