Of the five major streaming services that have launched in the last year, Apple (AAPL) TV+ has arguably struggled the most out of any of them besides Quibi (RIP). Relying solely on original series and eschewing a back catalog of library content, the streamer’s exclusives have generated varying levels of cultural penetration in a crowded TV marketplace. (We highly recommend Ted Lasso and Little America as excellent streaming options).
But the home confinement forced by the coronavirus has been a boon for most TV platforms; a new report from The Harris Poll and OpenX released earlier this month found that 52% of consumers have upped their streaming consumption somewhat or significantly since the start of the pandemic. As we head into the one year anniversary of Apple TV+’s launch, here are the streamer’s 10 most-watched shows over the last three months, according to Reelgood.
- Ted Lasso
- The Morning Show
- Defending Jacob
- See
- Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet
- Home Before Dark
- Servant
- For All Mankind
- Central Park
- Little America
Reelgood found that Ted Lasso was the most-watched series over the entire third quarter, despite being released halfway already into August. Looking at the streaming activity for all Apple TV+ shows from July to September, the hit show starring Jason Sudeikis was responsible for over 18% of all click plays from over 2 million Reelgood users in the U.S. The show, which carries an unrelenting sense of optimism and positivity, may very well be the perfect pandemic watch as the weather changes and your mood may not be at its best.
Coming in second is Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon’s The Morning Show with 15.8% share of streams, and Chris Evans’ Defending Jacob is in third with 10.4%. Apple TV+ has positioned the $300 million Morning Show as its flagship series and production on Season 2 resumed this week. Defending Jacob ranked among the 10 most in-demand digital originals when it launched in May, according to data from Parrot Analytics.
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It’s also adding a bona-fide classic property to its offerings. For the first time since 1965, Charlie Brown’s oldest and most beloved special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, won’t be running on broadcast television. That’s because the rights to the Peanuts gang’s popular holiday specials—Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas—now belong to Apple TV+ under a new partnership. The streaming service announced that it has acquired the exclusive rights to the cartoon earlier this week and it couldn’t come at a better time.
Apple TV+ has not leapt out to a blazing start like its competitor Disney+, but the streaming service is slowly building out a roster of increasingly watched originals. As such, it’s second year in the original programming game promises to be even more fascinating than its first.
