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Apple TV dropped the “plus” as streamers keep pulling back on originals

After the spray-and-pray approach led to a wave of cancellations, Hollywood is settling into an era of just making fewer shows.

Apple just quietly dropped the plus sign from its streaming service, Apple TV+. In a Monday announcement about the upcoming streaming debut of “F1: The Movie,” the tech giant casually slipped in a single line:

Apple TV+ is now simply Apple TV, with a vibrant new identity.

Whether it’s a sign that Apple may soon add an ad-supported tier — Apple TV remains the only major streamer without one — or simply a brand refresh, the makeover lands as the peak TV era is officially over.

According to data from Luminate, series cancellation rates soared past 20% across almost every major platform — and even 40% for some — in 2023, marking an “inflection point” for Hollywood.

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Rates of cancellations have since eased, but that doesn’t mean streamers have suddenly grown more generous; they’re just making fewer shows to begin with. Per Ampere Analysis, scripted TV commissions from six major global platforms, including Apple, Amazon, and Netflix, fell 24% year over year in the first half of 2025.

From plus to less

That could explain why Apple decided to drop the plus sign, once a symbol of something extra, in an industry that’s scaling back — reversing years of billion-dollar investments in original shows, low prices, and ad-free promises. Indeed, Apple TV’s rebrand comes just months after it raised its monthly subscription fee by 30% in August.

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The average price of a new vehicle in the US passed $50,000 for the first time ever in September

The average price of a new vehicle in the US surpassed $50,000 in September, according to Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book.

At $50,080, that’s the highest industry average ever, reflecting the price hikes faced by new car buyers in recent years amid pandemic supply shortages, tariff-induced increases, and the high cost of EV production. The figure marks a 3.6% jump from the same month last year.

“Tariffs have introduced new cost pressure to the business, but the pricing story in September was mostly driven by the healthy mix of EVs and higher-end vehicles pushing the new-vehicle ATP into uncharted territory,” Cox executive analyst Erin Keating said. Passing the $50,000 mark was inevitable, Keating said, especially considering that the country’s bestseller is a Ford truck that “routinely costs north of $65,000.”

Year over year, new vehicle prices rose nearly 6% for GM, while Ford’s climbed 2.5%. Volkswagen new prices were up 12.5%.

As prices climb, so do delinquencies on loans to borrowers with lower credit scores. Recent data from Fitch Ratings shows the portion of subprime US auto loans 60 days or more overdue reached 6.43% in August.

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Nia Warfield

Alibaba slides as the e-commerce giant’s cloud arm reportedly plans to slash overseas prices

Alibaba slipped more than 3% Tuesday morning following reports that its cloud unit will cut prices of select Elastic Compute Service products by up to 10.2% in overseas markets including Frankfurt, Tokyo, and Dubai.

The cuts, effective October 30, reflect the company’s push to expand its global footprint. The moves reflect a more targeted regional approach for the company as it seeks to strengthen its footprint in Europe and Asia. Alibaba Cloud made similar price cuts on international cloud products last year.

Competition is hot: Alibaba Cloud sits behind behemoths Amazon, Microsoft, and Google in the global cloud race, coming in fourth worldwide, according to data from Gartner.

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GM dips after revealing it will take a $1.6 billion Q3 hit due to its EV pullback

A few weeks after the end of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit — and the end of General Motors’ attempt to extend itGM says slowing EV sales will cost it $1.6 billion in its third quarter.

“Following recent US Government policy changes, including the termination of certain consumer tax incentives for EV purchases and the reduction in the stringency of emissions regulations, we expect the adoption rate of EVs to slow. These developments have caused us to reassess our EV capacity and manufacturing footprint,” GM wrote in a Tuesday filing.

As a result, GM said, the company will take a $1.2 billion charge pegged to EV capacity adjustments. An additional $400 million cash hit will come from canceled EV contracts with suppliers. The automaker said it’s “reasonably possible” that it will incur more EV-related charges in the coming quarters.

GM reports its third-quarter earnings next week. In the first half of the year, rival Ford has posted losses to the tune of $2.18 billion related to its EV business.

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