In Defence of Netflix Not Being in the Apple TV App

I like the Apple TV (box). It’s the only way I watch TV! I like that it’s a competent and fast piece of hardware, without ads*, that gives me easy access to all the streaming I want.

That it’s an app platform, makes it easy for even my niche Norwegian services to be a part of the platform. It can also have things like the excellent Infuse media player (for local files and Jellyfin).¹

Apps can also choose to serve their content to Apple’s frameworks: This makes the content searchable with the global search, and also adds the content to the Apple TV app. A section of the app is “Up Next”, where you can continue watching things from different services:

However, annoyingly, Netflix doesn’t participate.

And before I defend them, I want to highlight the cynical reasons they don’t:

1. It’s better for them if you stay in their app.
   • The reason is that they can advertise new stuff (you’re not watching yet), to make sure you stay with the service. This is also why Continue Watching isn’t always at the top.
   • If you’ve finished watching a show (perhaps through Apple TV (app)), you’ll might go on to something from another service next. And then you’ll might cancel your subscription after a while.
2. They don’t have to.
   • Even though they’re not as dominant as they used to, Netflix is really popular. So they feel like they can get away with not participating.

The mistake

Last week, there was a bit of writing because someone accidentally flipped the switch, and made Netflix actually participate:

Netflix quickly turned it off again – and the take that was the most popular in this cycle, was perfectly summarised by this great quote:

Netflix deeply regrets accidentally making Netflix a better product for its customers.

— Joe Rosensteel

As someone who uses both Netflix, the Apple TV (box), and Apple TV (app), Netflix participating would be better for me. But I think I have more understanding towards Netflix than most.

The defence

My first thought was that it was funny hearing someone like John Gruber criticising the move. When Apple themselves don’t play nice with others, to instead give users a unified experience (or whatever), he’s usually quick to defend them. And when they do this, it’s also because they’re dominant enough to not have to.

But I also think John Siracusa had plenty of good points on this, in the latest episode of Accidental Tech Podcast. And I’m stealing some of these here.

Control and competition

Because I think this, mostly, is a story about control. Apple is saying to the streaming providers: “Just give us the power and your content, and we’ll take care of delivering it to customers.” And as a user, I can see the appeal of this – but I think it’s a bit short-sighted.

I’ve noticed a major difference between the way antitrust and competition is viewed in the US and here in the Nordics: In addition to looking at things that directly affect consumers, we also think it’s important to make things better for small- and medium-sized companies – as this will indirectly be positive for customers in the long run.

And I get that Apple is far from being all-powerful in the streaming market. But they’ve shown what they do when they are, so I get why Netflix doesn’t want to contribute to this. Being the aggregator really matters.

If Apple’s business model here only was selling Apple TV boxes at a profit, I would 100% get behind blaming Netflix. A hypothetical contrast is the TV box Sonos is making: If I were the streaming providers, It would be much easier to trust Sonos to be fair, as they don’t have their own streaming service, and currently don’t demand a cut of everything.²

But even though Apple do sell their hardware with great profit-margins, you can never have enough money. So they also want to inject themselves everywhere, and think they deserve 30% of every transaction that happens on their platforms.³

But it doesn’t stop there: Apple also intends to compete in as many markets as possible themselves. (A 100% cut is even better than a 30% cut.) They’re investing a lot to build a direct competitor to Netflix, with Apple TV+.

Home screen vs. Apple TV (app)

On the home screen here, the competition between the services is fair.

However, Apple is pushing hard for Apple TV (app) to become the hub of the Apple TV (box), instead of the home screen. And here, there’s no reason to think they’ll fight fairly.

If you look at the screenshot above, from Apple’s own documentation, you can see that Apple TV+ and MLS are up top, while Max and STARZ are relegated to the bottom. And if you search for a movie, that can be purchased both on iTunes and on other platforms, which one do you think the UI will surface..? And I haven’t mentioned the millions of ways Apple can give preferential treatment to its own service in the Home tab.

Netflix could ask companies like Dropbox⁴ how much fun it is to compete with Apple’s services on Apple’s platforms… I’ve written previously about how I’m annoyed that I’m not allowed to use part of the 2 TB I have on Dropbox to store my photo library and automatic device backups. Apple is also the one controlling all the APIs etc.

So, when it comes to the balance between Apple and the other streaming providers, it’s easy to see why it’s more advantageous for Apple to funnel users to Apple TV (app), compared to the home screen. And a great example of how Apple uses its power in other areas, is that they’ve changed what the home button of the remote does by default: It will now send you to the app instead of the home screen. Also notice how this puts pressure on Netflix: As it causes users to need more clicks to go to the Netflix app.⁵ And remember that there isn’t a separate app for Apple’s own streaming service, so this is also a bit like turning one of the buttons on the remote into something similar to the Netflix or Hulu buttons you’ll see on some TV remotes.

If I’ve understood it correctly, services aren’t allowed to have their content show up in OS search unless they also provide the content to the Apple TV app. This is another example of how it’s easier to compete with other trucking companies if you also own the roads.

Don’t worry, Netflix will probably cave in the future.

They’ve obviously built support for this feature (that they accidentally turned on), which might be a part of an ongoing negotiation.⁶ And I won’t claim that this won’t be better for consumers! Because the simple argument is that choices are always good, and you’d then be able to choose to watch through the Netflix app or the Apple TV app. Let’s not forget all the cynical reasons why Netflix wants to keep you in their app!

And I get that it’s tempting to not have much sympathy for any company – especially one as large and powerful as Netflix. But do think it’s a bit short-sighted of consumers to push for even more concentration of power in the tech sector.