Mega-investor Warren Buffett doesn’t sound too confident in Apple’s ability to dominate the entertainment industry.
The Oracle of Omaha said in a recent interview that there are so many big players trying to grab eyeballs in the streaming industry that he wouldn’t want to play that game himself. Even though he’s not gung ho on Apple’s TV service, he also doesn’t sound worried if Apple doesn’t knock it out of the park.
One of the big threads running through Apple’s Monday keynote was the company’s insistence on user privacy. Apple would not, it suggests, share data with companies for Apple Card or Apple News+.
The new Apple TV channels, however, could be a little different. At least, according to an interview with AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. Speaking at the Fintech Ideas Festival, Stephenson included Apple when talking about customer data analytics in HBO’s digital distribution deals. HBO is a division of AT&T’s WarnerMedia.
Monday’s “show time” keynote introduced plenty of new faces to Apple fans when it came to presenters. One of them, Peter Stern, is the VP of Services in charge of the company’s Apple+ and Apple News+ services.
Having joined Apple in 2016, he’s a relatively new arrival. However, he’s someone we’re likely to see a lot more of — as a new profile makes clear.
Roku CEO Anthony Wood says Apple’s new Apple TV+ streaming platform is going to be great for his company despite some analysts claiming it could hurt Roku over the long term.
Wood made an appearance on CNBC today talking about the benefits of Apple finally embracing third-party streaming boxes like Roku and Amazon’s FireTV. Even though Apple has hundreds of millions of active iPhones and iPads to push its Apple TV+ service, the way Wood sees it, Apple TV+ needs Roku to be successful.
At a time when critically acclaimed TV shows serve up a steady stream of sex and violence, the upcoming Apple TV+ service proffers an unusual prescription for success: optimism, inclusion, creativity and inspiration.
Touting its upcoming streaming video service as “the new home for the world’s most creative storytellers,” Apple is carefully framing its upcoming Apple TV+ day as a healthy antidote to Hollywood’s toxic hellstew of nudity and mindless gore. The company even suggested its original shows could act as a tonic to heal a nation divided by the bitter partisan politics of the Trump era.
Watching Monday morning’s “It’s show time” keynote, I was struck by how much Tim Cook is stamping his values on what Apple is doing.
While writing a book about Cook last year, I accidentally stumbled on six values he has been championing at Apple:
These are the things Cook has been pushing internally since taking over from Steve Jobs in 2011. These are the priorities of his leadership, reflecting the things he wants to get done and the internal values that guide what Apple employees do and how they do it.
Monday’s keynote was a chance to witness these values in action, to see the kinds of products and services his priorities are helping to create.
There’s no longer a digital media player called simply “Apple TV” in this company’s product line up. But it wasn’t discontinued, just renamed, pobably to prevent confusion with the upcoming Apple TV+ streaming service.
America is bitterly divided on immigration. But the creator of an original Apple TV series, announced at the Steve Jobs Theatre today, wants his anthology to help heal that divide.
Rather than tales of exceptional talent and achievement, Little America tells the everyday stories of immigrants navigating the American dream.
The creator is writer and stand-up comedian Kumail Nanjiani whose very own American dream hit a sweet spot in 2017 with the movie The Big Sick.
Steven Spielberg, who brought us Indiana Jones and E.T., is lending his gravitas to the newly announced Apple TV+ service. He’s bringing back Amazing Stories, which told single-episode sci-fi tales back in the 1980s.
Its tone is expected to stand in stark contrast to Netflix’s Black Mirror, though the shows have similarities.
Apple’s big batch of videos from today’s “It’s show time” keynote are already available online and they pack more star power than anything we’ve ever seen come out of Cupertino.
Today’s event featured a bevy of new services like Apple Card, Apple News+, Apple TV+ and other offerings that will surely translate into big bucks for the iPhone-maker. If you didn’t get a chance to watch today’s keynote, we’ve rounded up all the feature videos so you can catch up on what’s new in one place.
Get ready to be overwhelmed with all the new offerings:
Today we see updates for all your Apple devices — Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and even Apple Watch.
Almost all of Apple’s big announcements today were software-based — the titanium Apple Card and the new TV shows were the exceptions — but very few of those announcements will be available today, or even soon. In the U.S. and Canada, you’ll be able to sign up for the new Apple News+ subscription today, but that’s about it.
Let’s see what else is new.
Apple’s services business is about to kick things into overdrive in 2019. During the company’s “It’s show time” event at Apple Park this morning the company unveil a slew of new services that cover everything from news to credit cards.
There was something for everyone to get excited about at today’s event that packed more celebrity power than any Apple event ever. Tim Cook finally gave us a look at the original TV shows Apple has been brewing up for years, but there are still a lot of questions surrounding Apple’s new services.
Everyone from Netflix to big banks were put on notice today with Apple’s new services lineup. Only one of the new services are launching today, but there’s still a lot to look forward too.
Hundreds of TV shows are available through dozens of streaming services, and Apple has just added itself to the mix with a stable of original programs. But rather than increasing the complexity, Apple is hoping to simplify everything by becoming a one-stop-shop for multiple offerings, including HBO, Showtime and more.
This service is called, logically enough, Apple TV+
The first Apple event of 2019 is finally upon us and it promises to be unlike any other Apple keynote we’ve seen.
Services are set to be the star of the show as Apple busts out a new TV streaming app, news subscriptions and maybe even an Apple Pay credit card. Rumors have been ramping up leading to today’s “It’s show time” event, but there are still plenty of surprises waiting for fans. As always, Cult of Mac is live-blogging the whole dang thing with up-to-the-minute analysis on all the new stuff. Apple CEO Tim Cook takes the stage at 10 a.m. Pacific — most likely with a ton of Hollywood A-listers in tow — but we’re gonna get the party started a little before that.
Come join the fun:
Apple is having some fun with frenzied fanboys and gals ahead of today’s “It’s show time” media event. Although the live broadcast won’t officially start until 10 a.m. Pacific, Apple “accidentally” showed a few images of the empty auditorium.
What makes that particularly exciting? Only the fact that the screen is showing images such as an incoming call from “Captain America” star Chris Evans.
Later today, Apple will pull back the curtain on its upcoming news and video subscription services. Cult of Mac will, as ever, be live-blogging the action, but you can also watch the media event live, and presumably enjoy a roster of TV type people pitching their shows through their permanent hangovers.
Whether you’re watching on your Mac, your iPhone, your iPad or your Apple TV, we’ll show you how to tune in.
You can even show up at an Apple Store and watch it on the big screen!
If you’re curious about the cost of the Apple TV service set to debut on Monday, you’re in good company: apparently, the media companies that will provide much of the content are almost equally in the dark.
Still, they think they might know something about Apple’s plans, and it’s good news for users of iPhone, iPad or Mac.
Former Bruce Almighty co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell were spotted reuniting on the set of their new Apple TV series about a morning TV show news crew.
The show started principal photography back at the end of October 31 but this is the first time we’ve seen photos of the two actors on set. Both Aniston and Carell are making their returns to TV after launching successful movie careers following Freinds and The Office.
Apple is undoubtedly going to throw its hat into the streaming TV markets during a big press event on Monday, where its service will have to compete against dozens of rivals, some household names.
Although the announcement is still a few days away, we already know quite a bit about how Apple will try to make its offering stand out.
Apple hasn’t even debuted its streaming video service yet, and already analysts are salivating over the potential cash tidal wave it could earn Apple.
According to Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives, Apple could carve out 100 million subscribers in the next 3-5 years. This could earn anywhere up to $10 billion in revenue per year.
The star-studded Apple TV+ lineup is starting to look like it could become a legitimate contender to Netflix and HBO. After going on a Hollywood spending spree in the last eight months, Apple appears poised to make a huge push into original content.
Thanks to its new worldwide video executive team, many of the Apple TV series in development actually look really promising and diverse. From Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories to mysterious new sci-fi series See, Apple’s working on some shows everyone could enjoy.
Check out the full list of Apple TV+ series and movies currently in the pipeline.
Update: We’ve added all the shows we know about heading into Apple’s big March 25 event, where the company expected to finally unveil its TV streaming service.
TV shows and movies on Apple’s soon-to-be-announced streaming service might not be broken up by irritating commercial breaks. A new report indicates content will be either free or paid for entirely by subscription fees.
So you can expect to watch the upcoming shows staring Reese Witherspoon, Jason Momoa or many others without interruption.
As it always does before a new keynote event, Apple’s updated its Apple Events app for Apple TV. If you own an Apple TV set-top box, and want to watch the March 25 event from the comfort of your couch, this is the best way you can do it.
The “It’s Showtime” event will take place at 10am Pacific/1pm Eastern. A new wallpaper hints at the “showbiz” focus of the event by featuring an Apple logo under a spotlight.
This week on The CultCast: Apple’s “it’s show time” event is just around the corner, and this is the first event ever that focuses purely on services. Is Apple’s streaming TV service going to suck? Don’t miss our “show time” keynote predications. Plus: Leander unveils the details on his new Tim Cook book, out April 16th!
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Apple has created numerous shows for its streaming TV service, but is reportedly also negotiating deals to bring in content from other sources, including HBO and Showtime.
This should help the Apple TV service compete against established rivals, especially Netflix.