Apple claimed TV+ had less than 20M U.S. and Canada subs in July, says report

A new report says that Apple has less than 20M Apple TV+ subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.

From CNBC:

Apple claimed its TV+ service had less than 20 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada as of July, allowing it to pay behind-the-scenes production crew lower rates than streamers with more subscriptions, according to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, a union that represents TV and movie workers who perform jobs like operating cameras and building sets.

Apple has never revealed how many TV+ subscribers it actually has, but a recent report said that estimates of 40M worldwide are accurate. From that report:

A new report into Apple TV+ claims that a previous estimate of 40M subscribers is roughly accurate, and that half of those are paying customers.

According to The Information:

Analysts previously estimated that the service had around 40 million subscribers at the end of last year, a figure a person with knowledge of the numbers said remained roughly accurate as of this summer. Approximately half of the subscribers are paying for the service, while the others are on free trial periods, this person said.

It seems plausible if Apple has about 40M Apple TV+ subscribers, that around half of them would be located in North America and Canada. As CNBC notes, the distinction is important because having less than 20M subscribers allows Apple to pay cheaper rates to behind the-scenes-workers:

The fact that Apple can pay a discounted rate despite being the most valuable publicly traded company in the world highlights some of the issues facing Hollywood workers as streaming supplants linear TV and movies, and is raising ire among union members who are deciding whether to strike for better pay and working conditions.

The rates are determined on July 1 every year, and a spokesman for the Union said Apple had declared it had less than 20 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada this year.

An Apple spokesperson told the outlet the company "pays rates in line with leading streaming services."