After spending upward of $1 billion creating original TV shows, Apple apparently plans to give them away for free. That would certainly be a bold move as Apple muscles into original video production, but it might be the craziest idea ever.
Here are three reasons why it’s a smart strategy — and three more why it could backfire.
Apple’s new TV streaming service will allegedly debut in early 2019 — and all those original Apple TV shows won’t cost customers anything, according to a recent report.
Despite planning to spend more than $1 billion on original content this year, Apple will supposedly give away its original content to customers that already own an iPhone, iPad or Apple TV.
Apple is spending upwards of $1 billion making original TV shows, but little has been publicly said about the initiative just yet. According to Netflix’s chief content officer, not only are customers in the dark about how Apple will make its shows available — even the folks making the shows for Apple don’t know.
Speaking at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit in Los Angeles, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos said that, “I don’t have any idea what that Apple product is going to be. I don’t think anybody does. I don’t think people making shows for them have any idea.”
What’s more, Netflix isn’t worried!
Netflix has bought the global distribution rights to Steven Soderbergh’s latest movie High Flying Bird — which, true to the iconic director’s previous word, was shot on iPhone.
This is the second movie by the Academy Award-winning director to be shot using one of Apple’s handsets. After the release of his last movie Unsane, Soderbergh said he was leaning toward shooting all his future projects on iPhone. It seems that he wasn’t kidding!
Apple’s video offerings could soon rival the biggest streaming service in the game, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley.
Katy Huberty, who has a reputation as one of the best Apple analysts in the industry, thinks video services will be a huge driver of growth for Apple over the next few years. The company’s potential is so huge that Huberty predicts it will rival Netflix by 2025.
A former Apple executive who left to join Netflix has launched a new startup, aimed at producing a searchable library of content which can be adapted for movies or TV.
George Berry worked at Apple for almost six years, first as its Senior Manager of Video Operations and then of Global Media Services. He then jumped ship to Netflix, before teaming up with producer Uri Singer to launch TaleFlick as its COO.
Netflix is among the highest-grossing apps in the App Store, but that might not be the case for much longer. That’s because the video streaming company is supposedly looking for ways to bypass iTunes so as to save itself the money that it currently pays Apple.
The decision is at least partially linked to Apple’s efforts in producing its own original video content, which would make it a direct competitor to Netflix.
Netflix and HBO might be getting some fresh competition soon and we’re not talking about Apple’s growing TV streaming ambitions.
Walmart is supposedly planning to get into the streaming game and it hopes to beat the competition by making the cheapest priced TV streaming service available.
iOS 12 users can finally enjoy Fortnite again after Apple’s latest beta fixed random game crashes.
A problem with downloading Netflix titles has also been eliminated, but a number of new bugs have been introduced with this release — including on that breaks the new Screen Time feature.
A new feature in the Netflix app will automatically download episodes of your favorite shows. This means they’re waiting on your phone or tablet when you’re ready.
Netflix already allows users to download episodes to watch later. The improvement announced today just makes it easier.
The Netflix Ultra plan we feared was coming is now live in several countries.
Subscribers will have to pay more to enjoy HDR content on compatible TVs, and to stream movies and TV shows on four devices simultaneously. The Premium plan that previously offered these things has been watered-down, as has the Standard plan.
You might have to pay a lot more for your Netflix subscription if your account is regularly used on more than two devices.
A new leak reveals Netflix could be planning to limit its Premium tier to allow just two devices to stream content simultaneously. Users would have to pay around $20 a more for a new Ultra plan to continue streaming on up to four.
Apple has tapped J.J. Abrams to executive produce its latest straight-to-series order for the half-hour dramedy show called Little Voices.
Abrams’ and Apple have reportedly discussed working together on a number of his projects in the past. This is the first Apple has been able to ink a deal with J.J., but considering his close ties to Jony Ive, we’re surprised it took this long.
After beating out every other photo-sharing platform and stealing Snapchat’s lunch money, Instagram is jumping into video.
A new report claims the service is adding support for uploading videos up to an hour in length. It is also in talks with content creators and publishers about the possibility of delivering original long-form videos that could compete with shows from the likes of Apple and Netflix.
Former President Barak Obama and his wife Michelle Obama are coming to Netflix.
The duo inked a deal to produce content for the streaming service this week after reportedly being courted by Apple and Amazon earlier this year. Netflix announced the multi-year agreement today which could lead to films, scripted series, unscripted series documentaries and more.
Apple’s plan to change the future of television is starting to look a bit clearer now that a new report claims the company is planning to take a page out of Amazon’s playbook.
Netflix has added a new feature to its iOS app, allowing users to watch a 30-second video trailer of content they are interested in.
The company began testing the feature in early March, but is now rolling it out to all users. The video previews are viewable in portrait mode, which ensures that they do not interrupt your browsing experience by having to constantly change the orientation of your device.
As the current king of the streaming video world, Netflix knows it’s got a target on its back — and it’s certainly sweating because Apple wants to steal its crown. So Netflix is using a tactic once employed by Apple, positioning itself as a scrappy, nimble upstart able to easily outflank its deep-pocketed adversaries.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings even called his company “the anti-Apple” this weekend, painting Cupertino as a secretive company limited in its operational speed by obsessive top-down control.
That’s a misreading of the situation, and a serious strategic mistake. In fact, if Netflix misplays its cards, it could find itself Sherlocked.
Apple keeps ordering TV shows but hasn’t said yet what it will do with them. Whatever the company’s plans are, Cupertino will face heavy competition. All the big networks are expected to launch their own for-pay streaming video services soon.
Apple is reportedly battling with Netflix and Amazon to sign former President Barack Obama to a deal that would see him produce a high profile series of shows with wife Michelle Obama.
These shows will likely focus on the Obamas hosting conversations on a variety of topics, ranging from health care and climate change to nutrition. Unfortunately for Apple, it seems that Netflix may have this deal in the bag!
Netflix is bringing video previews to mobile, giving users a 30-second glimpse at shows they may find interesting. On iPhone, you’ll be able to enjoy them in portrait mode so that you don’t have to keep switching orientation while browsing.
Apple made more money last quarter than it ever has in the company’s history, but despite bringing home $88.3 billion in revenue, not all investors were impressed.
Wall Street walked away from Apple’s Q1 2018 earnings with mixed reviews. Money and cash is at an all-time high, yet there are some worrying signs that iPhone sales are about to hit another slump and new products like HomePod aren’t doing much to excite the market.
Here are the five biggest takeaways from today’s call:
Disney is bringing in an Apple veteran to help build its streaming service that will ultimately take on Netflix and maybe even Apple.
Kevin Swint, a former Apple employee that was in charge of the company’s worldwide iTunes movie business, was recently hired by Disney to help the company embrace streaming.
Apple’s original content creation machine is starting to churn at full steam, based on a new report that the iPhone-maker has inked a deal for yet another original series.
Apple ordered a straight-to-series TV show this week that will be written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and directed by Francis Lawrence, who helmed the first two movies in The Hunger Games franchise.
Get ready to dive into the lifestyles of the rich and fabulous with a new Apple TV show that just got the green light.
Apple reportedly gave a straight-to-series order for a new docuseries called Home that will explore some of the most extravagant abodes in the world, along with the minds that made them.