According to a source, Apple stated there were less than 20 million North American users to its streaming service, reducing the amount paid to crew members.
According to reports, Apple told a labor union that its Apple TV Plus streaming service had fewer than 20 million North American customers as of July, allowing the firm to pay cheaper wages to production teams on its shows than Netflix.
Apple hasn't made the number of TV Plus subscribers public, but a representative for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees told CNBC late Friday that Apple disclosed the US and Canada data to the union.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which includes Apple as a member, is now in contract discussions with the union, which covers set builders, camera operators, and other similar professionals. Big-budget productions destined for a streaming service can pay crew members less under the current contract if the service has fewer than 20 million users.
According to CNBC, the existing contract states that streaming profits are "presently unclear," thus crews for streaming productions aren't compensated the same as crews for traditional TV series and movies. The IATSE, on the other hand, claims that streaming has established itself as a legitimate company, and that production employees' remuneration should be more equal.
"Workers on certain 'new media' streaming projects are paid less, even on productions with budgets that are comparable to or surpass those of conventionally published blockbusters," the union stated in a statement released Tuesday. According to CNBC, union employees are considering going on strike.
Apple did not reply to a request for comment on Saturday, although it did tell CNBC that it pays prices equal to the top streaming providers.
Netflix had around 74 million members in the United States and Canada as of July, whereas Disney Plus had approximately 38 million subscribers in North America.
Since the streaming service's introduction over two years ago, Apple TV Plus' catalog of high-end originals has expanded to more than five dozen titles. Ted Lasso, an Emmy winner; The Morning Show, a big-budget drama starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon; Jason Momoa's dystopian fantasy See; and a 10-episode version of Isaac Asimov's hefty Foundation epic are among the shows on tap.