Amazon, Apple Makes Apple TV+ More Accessible To All With New Subscription Deal

In a press release published this week, Amazon announced it reached a deal with Apple such that Apple TV+ will be available as a subscription option on Prime Video. According to Amazon, the option will arrive “later this month” to Prime Video subscribers in the United States and will be priced at the same $9.99 per month that Apple itself charges.

TV+ joins an “extensive collection” of over 100 add-ons on Prime Video.

“We want to make Apple TV+ and its award-winning library of series and films from the world’s greatest storytellers available to as many viewers as possible,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled that Prime Video will now offer Apple TV+, giving viewers an incredible breadth of viewing options.”

News of the Amazon-Apple deal is relevant to this column as I’m reminded of the all-new Prime Video app that I covered earlier this year. The overhauled app, which I’ve been enjoying on my Apple TV 4K box for months now, has a big focus on accessibility—particularly so in terms of easily finding one’s subscriptions such as the forthcoming Apple TV+.

My conversations with Amazon executives Raf Soltanovich and Kam Keshmiri revealed that every element of the Prime Video app’s new user interface was deliberately designed “with accessibility in mind,” according to Soltanovich. Keshmiri called the team’s work in building the Prime Video app “holistic,” with both men repeatedly telling me the company staunchly believes its work in this realm ultimately will “move the needle a little bit forward and allow us to serve customers who are able to more easily discover the content and use the app.” Amazon, I was told, is especially proud of assistive technologies in Prime Video such as Dialogue Boost, which obviously makes voices sound more intelligible.

Another friend of mine at 9to5 Mac, Zac Hall, has a report on the deal. In his piece, he notes the partnership not only is beneficial to Apple, business-wise, in terms of attracting more eyeballs, the Prime Video’s UI structure makes it more streamlined to find and manage add-ons. As Hall writes, many people are under the false impression that Apple TV+ requires an Apple TV box. While there is a cogent argument to be made that tvOS is the most accessible platform, Apple TV, like everything else Apple makes, isn’t inexpensive. However it serves Apple’s own interests to put Apple TV+ on every streaming stick and smart TV platform under the sun, the reality is the egalitarianism to the strategy means even an avowed Apple user enjoys TV+ on a cheaper, albeit arguably not as nice and as tightly integrated, streaming device if that’s within their wallet’s ken. The reality is a Fire TV stick is considerably more budget-friendly for many disabled people than an Apple TV, desirability be damned.