Apple TV is having a genuine moment right now, and it is coming from three completely different directions at once. On Monday night, the streaming service swept the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards with a record-breaking 29 wins, officially becoming the most awarded network of the year.
That massive win comes just weeks after Apple quietly dropped the plus from its name entirely, rebranding Apple TV+ into simply Apple TV. Also, Apple TV has officially been launched in Pakistan in early September, with iCloud users purchasing the services.
A Record-Breaking Night at the Emmys
Apple TV’s Emmy haul this year genuinely stunned the entertainment industry. The freshman horror-comedy Widow’s Bay alone picked up 14 awards, breaking the previous record for any comedy series in history, a record that had actually belonged to another Apple show, The Studio, just one year earlier.
Pluribus added six more wins to Apple’s total, including Rhea Seehorn’s win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and creator Vince Gilligan’s individual writing award. Slow Horses picked up a directing win too, rounding out a night where Apple’s shows dominated category after category.
What makes this even more remarkable is the timeline involved. Apple TV reached the top spot faster than any other streaming service in Emmy history, achieving it in just seven seasons since launching back in 2019. Accepting the top comedy award, Widow’s Bay showrunner Katie Dippold thanked the platform directly, saying, “Thank you Apple for letting us take this crazy, creative swing.”
How Rivals and Apple Executives Reacted
The reaction from competitors was almost as interesting as the wins themselves. HBO chairman Casey Bloys, whose network finished second with 21 wins, offered a genuinely gracious response when asked about finishing behind Apple for the first time. He called Apple’s programming leaders “very handsome competitors.”
On Apple’s side, Eddy Cue the company’s senior vice president overseeing services, stayed notably humble despite the historic haul. He explained Apple’s actual goal plainly. “Let’s not try to make the most, let’s try to make the best, and that was our number one goal,” he said, adding that once that quality bar was met, “viewers would recognize it.”
Why Apple TV+ Became Just Apple TV
Separate from the Emmy haul, Apple made a quieter but genuinely confusing branding decision recently, dropping the plus from Apple TV+. The change was first mentioned almost as an afterthought inside a press release announcing the streaming debut of F1: The Movie, with Apple simply stating that “Apple TV+ is now simply Apple TV, with a vibrant new identity.”
The timing raised some eyebrows industry-wide, since Apple was essentially following Disney’s earlier decision to drop the Plus branding from Disney+ around the same period. It also created a genuinely odd naming overlap. Apple already sells a physical streaming box called Apple TV, meaning the company now uses that exact same name for its streaming service, its app, and its hardware device all at once.
Alongside the naming shift, Apple also raised prices for the service just weeks earlier. The monthly subscription jumped from $12.99 to $14.99, while the annual plan rose to $119 from its previous price point. That increase rippled into other Apple bundles too, pushing up the cost of the Apple One Individual plan as a direct result.
Apple TV Now in Pakistan
Apple expanded its local footprint by bundling Apple TV directly into paid iCloud+ tiers. Subscription billing and app streaming access officially went live in Pakistan in early September 2026.
Local plans start at Rs. 200 per month for 50GB storage, which includes access to Apple TV and Apple Arcade without extra fees. Family Access plans support Family Sharing for up to five members, with automatic upgrades applying to existing subscribers.
Full access and expansion was given on September 16, 2026, Apple began rolling out full Apple TV streaming access (bundled into paid iCloud+ subscriptions) to users in Pakistan.
What This Means for Subscribers Going Forward
For everyday subscribers, the practical changes here are fairly minimal despite all the headlines. Your existing subscription still works exactly the same way, just under a slightly different name and a higher monthly price than before.
For now, Apple TV finds itself in an unusual position, celebrating its most successful creative year ever while still working through the slightly branding confusion its own naming decision created. Between Widow’s Bay’s historic sweep and the ongoing rollout of its simplified name, Apple’s streaming ambitions clearly are not slowing down anytime soon, price increase and naming quirks included.
