While many observers have their eyes fixed on Disney, Apple is building a library of video content. The company has told The New York Times that it will “start streaming its television offerings next year”.
Apple’s plans for TV content
Apple has a handful of TV programs and series in production. More than 20 titles have been named or confirmed by the company itself or its production partners. Besides TV programming, the company is reportedly also interested in movies.
It has been confirmed or reported that Apple is collaborating with prominent names such Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, J. J. Abrams, and M. Night Shyamalan. It is also planning shows based on Min Jin Lee’s novel Pachinko as well as Asimov’s science fiction books.
Of course, the company has already released Carpool Karaoke and a quiz show called Planet of the Apps via Apple Music, apparently to test the waters and without much success. Apple has since earmarked 1 billion dollars for production of video content and made clear that it is “all-in”.
The slate of video content that has been ordered since two former Sony Pictures Television executives took helm and were handed a bag full of money, however, has yet to emerge. The company now tells The New York Times that consumes can expect to see the first results next year.
- “Apple has said it will start streaming its television offerings next year, when it will begin competing against Netflix, Amazon and Hulu in earnest. When Apple began courting producers last year, it said it had a budget of about $1 billion to work with, a sum that appears conservative based on the large number of projects the company has scooped up,” the report from The New York Times said
The same report confirms that Apple has acquired the rights to a TV show based on The New York Times’ own article Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change about “climate change and the political forces that have stymied efforts to combat the phenomenon will become an Apple television project”.
It is not clear how Apple is planning to distribute its video content. Some have suggested that Apple may make its initial shows part of the Apple Music service or the TV app, whereas others expect the company to launch a full-fledged TV service. CEO Tim Cook recently hinted at one such TV service.
- Source: The New York Times
