Apple executives argued they didn’t “leave money on the table” when deciding Apple TV subscription rates

Apple’s executive emails revealed in the Epic Games lawsuit against Apple highlight how the company came to its conclusion of reducing 30% of all App Store transactions in a way that ensured it didn’t “leave money” on the table”.

A 2011 email thread, seen by The Verge, has Apple’s head of services, Eddy Cue, discussing the commission the company should charge suppliers for content subscriptions accessed through Apple TV (there was no such thing at the time). an “App Store” in the set-top box). Apple executives considered charging a 40% time cut, a one-time 30% reduction, a 30% continuous fee, or individualized deals with different vendors.

Apple’s team finally decided to charge the same 30% rates as the iTunes Store and the “App Store”. Another email also talks about how Apple should negotiate referrals, where ‌Apple TV‌ applications link to a vendor’s website for customers to subscribe directly to the service.

An executive said they wanted to make sure they protected the 30% fee that had long been enshrined in the “app store,” but said they would remain open to other structures in agreement.

“I don’t want to make any offers where we get less than 30%. That’s what’s in the app store and we can’t make any different deals here. If that’s not possible than I want a time reward, but we have to be very careful here so that this does not happen in the app store, ”one executive wrote. (Emails are sent so it’s hard to know who’s answering.)

Overall, the email thread seems to suggest that discussions evolved untimely among Apple executives regarding vendor rates during the initial development of the “Apple TV” platform, with maximum benefit as main concern.

Amid growing control over its “App Store” practices, Apple announced in November the Small Business Program, which saw App Store rates cut by 15% just for to developers who earned less than a million dollars a calendar year. The “App Store” commission is maintained at 30% for developers who earn more than a million dollars a year.

Since then, the program has received praise from many developers, but some larger developers, including Epic Games, criticized the move, saying it undermined the rules of the “app store.” PEpic Games‌ is not eligible for the reduced commission, as it exceeds the $ 1 million profit threshold. Apple said the program will benefit the “vast majority” of App Store developers.