The streaming industry has entered its adolescence, and while Netflix (NFLX) and Amazon Prime Video have established themselves as global frontrunners, a host of other services, including Disney , Hulu and Apple (AAPL) TV , are competing fiercely for market share. I’m a huge fan of Apple TV ’s premium content and ambitious storytelling, and I’m not the only one. Apple TV ranks an impressive third among the eight major streaming services in U.S. audience demand share for streaming originals (8.4 percent), according to Parrot Analytics, where I work as Senior Entertainment Industry Strategist.

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However, that’s just one slice of the pie. Despite its critical acclaim, Apple TV accounted for just 0.3 percent of U.S. TV screen viewing in June, according to Nielsen. Industry analyst Entertainment Strategy Guy estimates the service has less than 20 million paying subscribers in the U.S. This suggests Apple TV is incredibly good at delivering top-tier original programming (it is!) but is struggling to broaden its offering for wider commercial appeal.

Part of that is a volume issue, which is solvable. For example, Peacock’s U.S. library is nearly 12 times larger than Apple TV ’s, per Parrot Analytics’ Content Panorama. That makes sense, given NBCU’s decades of content-creating experience. Yet frequent usage drives retention, and there simply isn’t enough volume on Apple TV yet despite the high quality. But Apple is looking to license more external content, which is a more sensible approach for the tech giant than the major studio acquisition some (including myself) have speculated about in recent years.

The other half of this equation is the type of content Apple TV delivers. The streamer is understandably committed to upholding Apple’s premium branding, but that may be........

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