If you subscribed to Netflix via the iOS app or iTunes at the time and have been happily paying and watching via that system for years, Netflix will no longer accept your payments: you will have to subscribe directly instead of through Apple. Netflix has confirmed that it is telling all members who have used “an iTunes payment method” to sign up directly, as their existing payment method is no longer supported.
That will be a blow to anyone whose subscription meant they were still paying the subscription rates before the increase: the basic subscription that still cost $9.99 per month for some users has now been discontinued, so existing subscribers will have to pay the current rate for the streaming service or go to the ad-funded service.
This isn’t a big surprise, as Netflix has already halted sign-ups through Apple for new subscribers. And it’s part of the ongoing tensions between the streamer and the tech giant, whose relationship isn’t exactly amicable.
Why Netflix and Apple aren’t best friends
Netflix has long criticized Apple for what it sees as too much of a cut in in-app purchases, something this move is designed to prevent Netflix from paying. But there’s also the factor that since the launch of Apple TV Plus, the fundamental relationship between the two companies has changed: Apple is not just a platform provider, but a direct competitor as one of the top streaming services.
It may be a much smaller competitor – Apple doesn’t publish subscriber numbers, but you can bet it’s only a fraction of Netflix’s – but it does mean the two companies have become increasingly hostile. Netflix doesn’t integrate with the unified Apple TV app and Apple TV hardware interface, nor has Netflix created an app for Apple Vision Pro.
If you currently subscribe to Netflix through Apple, you can expect an email update any minute now telling you to resubscribe through the Netflix site. Your choices in the US if you want to keep your streaming service are $15.59 per month for ad-free or $7 per month for the ad-supported plan; the Premium level is $23 per month.