According to 9to5Mac, Apple will be extending its free year-long trials of its TV Plus service to customers until July 2021. The trials were originally included with the purchase of any Apple device (e.g., an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV) and were initially set to last until November 1st, 2020. This is the second extension, with the first extending from November 2020 to February 2021.
Subscribers who had free subscriptions that were set to expire any time from February 2021 to June 2021 will also get an extension until July. The extension comes in the wake of production delays. Only one of the shows the service launched with (Dickinson) has had its second season premiere, while others — like For All Mankind, The Morning Show, and See — are still waiting for their second seasons to come out.
Show productions being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic is no surprise, and extending the trial is a nice gesture. Viewers probably would like to start watching the second seasons of their favorite shows before they decide whether the service is worth $4.99 a month, and the extension is giving them the ability to do so. After all, there’s not a ton of use in a TV subscription service if some shows only have 12 episodes.