Apple TV+ shows and movies will be free to stream for three days

The streamer has a limited library, but has managed to produce a consistently high quality of programming.

By Joe Allen Published December 30, 2024

The cast of Ted Lasso — Image used with permission by copyright holder

As anyone with an Apple TV+ subscription will tell you, there are plenty of great movies and TV shows available on the streamer. Unfortunately, at $9.99/mo., the cost of a subscription is just too rich for some people’s blood.

Apple is apparently hoping to bag an entirely new group of subscribers by making all of its shows and movies free for the first weekend of 2025. From Jan. 3 to Jan. 5, everything on Apple TV+ will be streamable for free with an Apple ID and password. That means that users can watch everything from Severance to Ted Lasso for free for a limited time, with the rather obvious goal of enticing users to sign up for a paid membership to the streamer.

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Apple TV+ first launched in November of 2019, and does not disclose how many subscribers it has.

While Apple’s library is more limited than many of its streaming competitors, it has been known for its ability to churn out a consistently high quality of movies and TV shows, including the Oscar-winner CODA as well as other well-regarded series like Dickinson, Slow Horses, and Silo, which are set in a variety of different genres.

Given that Apple remains primarily a technology company that also just happens to have a streaming service, Apple TV+ has never been the company’s only or best way to make money. Still, it seems like they’re looking to see some growth out of the streaming service, perhaps timed loosely to line up with the second season premiere of Severance later in the month. That show has long been one of the streamer’s most well-regarded.

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Joe Allen is a freelance culture writer based in upstate New York. His work has been published in The Washington Post, The…

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