Sites like TechCrunch are reporting on Thursday that Apple is going to extend its year-long free Apple TV+ subscriptions through February.
Last year, Apple began giving away a free year of Apple TV+ to anyone who bought an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV. The first of those free year-long subscriptions would end on November 1, one year after the service’s debut.
Now, if your free year-long trial would end between Nov 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021, it will be extended through your normal billing date in February of 2021. That’s an additional three free months for those who have a billing date of November 1.
If you’re not on a free yearly trial but already paying month-to-month (with a subscription start date before November 1, 2020), you’ll also get a bit of a gift. Apple will credit your account $4.99 for each month between November 1 and January 31.
In effect, Apple is giving everyone Apple TV+ “free” for the holiday months of November, December, and January.
It’s probably a good idea. Apple TV+ has been building its library slowly, and a lot of new shows (and second seasons) that should have debuted this fall have found their production delayed by COVID-19. When Apple gave away a free year of TV+, it probably thought the streaming service would be in a much stronger position going into the end of this year. This move will help prevent the triage of people cancelling subscriptions before it can get some more of its tentpole series out.
Author: Jason Cross, Senior Editor
I have written about technology for my entire professional life - over 25 years. I enjoy learning about how complicated technology works and explaining it in a way anyone can understand.