Over the past few years, we have heard rumors that Apple is cozying up to ad agencies and hiring advertising executives. As a result, many have suspected that Apple TV Plus will add an ad-supported subscription tier. And now Apple has reportedly met with a British ratings agency to discuss ad tracking options.

According to The Telegraph, Apple sent executives to a meeting with the Broadcaster's Audience Research Board (BARB) to discuss various options for ad tracking on Apple TV Plus. monitoring viewership of streaming services along with other broadcasters in the UK, but to do so would require "additional data collection techniques to be put in place."

All of the above will be necessary if Apple wants to start selling ads on Apple TV Plus. And, if we take a cue from other streaming services, this would probably take the form of a cheaper, ad-supported subscription tier.

The question is what this new tier will look like; Apple TV Plus is currently $10/month, and if we take a cue from other streaming services, adding ads should save a few dollars a month.

We don't have any more information than that right now, and probably won't until Apple officially announces this hypothetical tier. Therefore, it is unclear how much cheaper the ad-supported Apple TV Plus will be, or how much advertising viewers will have to endure in exchange for that discount. One can only hope that this new price point does not coincide with another price increase.

The most likely place to announce this new tier would be Apple's September event - also known as the iPhone 16 launch event. It all depends on whether Apple wants to make a big splash with the Apple TV Plus or rather turn its attention to the next wave of iPhones and Apple Watches.

We will have to wait and see how this plays out. Given that Apple has reportedly been researching advertising for a couple of years already, it may be a while before we see Apple TV Plus ads outside of sports broadcasts.