Apple’s streaming service has entered a new phase as the company rebrands Apple TV+ to simply Apple TV. The change may seem small at first. However, it marks a strategic shift in how Apple presents its entertainment platform across devices and services.
Eddy Cue reveals why Apple dropped the plus sign from Apple TV
Apple’s senior vice president of Services, Eddy Cue, explained why the company dropped the “Plus” from Apple TV’s name. He discussed the decision during an interview on The Town podcast with Matt Belloni.
Cue said the rebranding decision was a collective one within Apple and that the timing felt right. “We put the plus in there because we’ve used it in our other services like iCloud+ and News+, but we do that when we have a free service and then there’s a paid version,” Cue said. “We stayed consistent because of it, but we all called it Apple TV and we said, given where we are today, it’s a great time to do it, so let’s just do it.”
He stated that Apple no longer needs the “Plus” because the streaming service has already established its subscription identity. The rebrand aligns with how users already refer to the service, commonly calling it “Apple TV.” Cue emphasized that the simplification was a natural step in the platform’s growth and brand consistency across Apple’s ecosystem.
Addressing possible confusion between the streaming service, hardware, and app, Cue said he does not expect any issues. “Our hardware is called Apple TV 4K for your TV,” he explained. “I think that’s fine, and the app is called Apple TV. It’s been called Apple TV on our third-party products as well, so I don’t think that’ll be a problem at all.”
Cue also noted the platform’s growth since its 2019 debut with originals like The Morning Show and For All Mankind. He noted the service continues to grow, saying, “We haven’t said what our numbers are, but we’re significantly more than [40–45 million subscribers].”
