“Apple has recruited four veteran TV executives to join its burgeoning video content team,” Daniel Holloway reports for Variety.
“Kim Rozenfeld, formerly head of current programming at Sony Pictures Television, is joining the tech giant as its future head of current and the lead executive on documentary series development,” Holloway reports. “Rozenfeld is reuniting with former bosses Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, who in June left Sony to oversee video content at Apple as the company prepares to move into original series programming.”
“Two more Sony veterans, Max Aronson and Ali Woodruff, are joining Apple as development executives. Both will report to Van Amburg and Erlicht,” Holloway reports. “Former WGN America head of publicity Rita Cooper Lee has joined Apple to lead communications for the new video content unit, reporting to Apple’s Tom Neumayr.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Better to get serious late than never!
Fortunately, Apple has the resources to catch up on lost time pretty much instantly.
SEE ALSO:
Apple, Amazon join race for James Bond franchise rights – September 6, 2017
Apple eyes iconic studio as base for Hollywood production push; vying with Netflix for high-profile Jennifer Aniston drama – September 1, 2017
The magic and misdirection of Apple’s streaming strategy – August 18, 2017
Apple wants to spend $1 billion on 10 original TV shows over the next year – August 16, 2017
Former WGN America president Matt Cherniss joins Apple in latest TV push – August 15, 2017
Rivals leaving Apple behind as Apple TV remains stuck in a test pattern – August 8, 2017
Apple’s so-called TV ‘strategy’ continues to be an embarrassing joke – June 30, 2017
Apple poaches Sony TV executives to lead major push into original content – June 16, 2017
Hulu and NBCUniversal ink expansive agreement to bring top channels to Hulu’s upcoming live TV streaming service – May 1, 2017
YouTube to unveil virtual cable bundle for $30 to $40 a month – February 28, 2017
Stalled talks with Ron Howard highlight Apple’s content confusion – February 16, 2017
Apple vowed to revolutionize television; currently prepping an unremarkable 4K Apple TV instead – February 16, 2017
Apple TV: Still not ready for prime time – February 15, 2017
Apple hires Amazon’s Fire TV head to run Apple TV business – February 8, 2017
Apple’s new TV app shows just how painfully behind Apple is – December 14, 2016
Are you ready for 4K TV? Apple TV isn’t. – November 28, 2016
Apple has no idea what they’re doing in the TV space, and it’s embarrassing – November 3, 2016
Hulu inks deals with Fox and Disney, adding ESPN, Fox News and more to forthcoming live service – November 1, 2016
Apple’s Eddy Cue: Nope, we don’t want to be Netflix – October 20, 2016
Google signs up CBS for planned web TV service to debut in early 2017; close to deal with 21st Century Fox – October 20, 2016
Apple’s Eddy Cue: Nope, we don’t want to be Netflix – October 20, 2016
Apple’s Eddy Cue alienated cable providers and networks with an assertive negotiating style – report – July 28, 2016
Here comes á la carte programming – without Apple – July 13, 2016
Apple TV 4 is a beta product and, if you bought one, you’re an unpaid beta tester – November 5, 2015
and where is my Mac Pro?
not up dated since 2013….
( macs make more than iPad
macs $5 billion plus revenue Q3
other products (TV, Watch, Beats, Airpods, accessories, iPod etc COMBINED) $2 billion plus
I.EVmacs made TWICE these combined…
Netflix cash negative after expenses, Spotify lost money…)
so why aren’t Macs higher on priority list?
haven’t seen a Mac ad for years.
I think you need to read the article again or make your complaints direct to Apple I really don’t understand what it has to do with this story and some of us really would love to read things and opinions on the subject in hand. Its getting to the point that I rarely read the comments anymore they being so irrelevant or abusive (or usually a combination) these days. Oh how I hark back to the days when you got intelligent and well argued responses on this site that could educate the reader as they questioned and debated. Even the odd troll was generally amusing.
Cue more irrelevant abuse no doubt. Sad days.
what my post has got to do with the story is simple:
Why is Apple investing SOOOO Much in all these tV etc stuff when they let Mac languish, Macs which are so profitable vs TV, movies (go read my financial data points below. ) and Macs are one of the traditional primary cores of Apple . Something they KNOW how to do well (unlike TV, example: Planet of the Apps).
Apple is wasting their great Mac, MacOS/OSX assets. That’s giant Apple centric issue, I think my arguments CRYSTAL, if you’re so blind you can’t see it I can’t help you.
Exactly! If they weren’t hiring TV execs we’d have a new Mac Pro already! Because reasons!
I’m not complaining that they are hiring TV exes so much as they are focusing on TV WHILE they neglect Macs . is that so hard to understand? that shows (look at all my profit reasons and consumer reasons) they have their priorities screwed.
If they can’t do BOTH TV and Macs they should pick Macs.
get that?
if they can do both why aren’t they?
Apple Consumers can get content from ALL KINDS of PLACES like Netflix, Amazon etc.
But the can only buy Macs like Mac Pros from Apple.
We pro users have invested a lot (some tens of thousands in hardware software) listening to Apple say they support pro users for years (they bought FCP, Aperture, had photoshop Mac vs Pc shootouts to entice pro users to buy Macs) and we don’t have a Mac Pro since 2013 . They are betraying their customers because we can’t run our businesses with machines one third the GPU power of our competitors using PCs.
Get that?
the only reason for Apple making TV etc content is PROFIT it is NOT for ‘choice’ (as I stated Apple consumers can get content from elsewhere like Netflix ) and as a PROFIT generator i TV sucks vs Macs.
What I can’t get is why you think any TV endeavors would in any way influence the Mac Pro. If the Mac Pro is behind it’s not because of that. It has nothing to do with it. It’s some other reason.
oh GWAD, I not saying hiring TV execs CAUSES Mac Pro not being produced.
My post is about Apple having their priorities screwed, in that they are hiring TV execs, spending so much time on TV content like Planet of the Apps, WHILE neglecting profitable Macs.
( here: If I say he watches too much TV and neglects cutting his lawn that does NOT mean I’m arguing ‘ watching TV CAUSES grass to grow’ . )
sheesh.
I’m getting off this as I think it’s pointless to explain to you …
How many Mac Pros do you think they sell?
they didn’t just neglect the mac Pros.
I gave long explanations on the delays of the Sky Lake macs etc elsewhere here. the entire line was not updated properly for years.
The Mac Mini, a great switcher Mac as Windows users don’t want to use an iMac and lose their Monitors is still not updated since 2014 (I believe) . The Mini was a best seller years ago (top five PC on Amazon for years) before they REMOVED the QUAD OPTION and made the RAM NON UPGRADEABLE to make it THINNER…. (there is No reason to make a desktop Thinner by an inch or so and lose so much). after neutering it and (probably) resulting decline in sales they lost interest… (the original mini was a great small server, and multipurpose tool, it was used by labs , hobbyists etc)
Without the mini there is no real low cost entry level Mac.
Apple used to have a great position in Education (since the days of the special education Macs) — it has now since dwindled to 10% or so and this is counting iPads.
The product line is confusing. the Macbook Air which is supposed to be lighter has more ports than the Macbook. jobs product line was very clear.
The Macbook Pro was underpowered for a long time and limited to 16 GB — this was the Mac that was updated recently with Kaby Lake just months after the SkyLake version as they came out with the underpowered SkyLake Macbook Pro So late in Sky Lake’s cycle.
There is still no power GPU version of Macbook Pro.
(Apple actually combined the high end Macbook Air with a Macbook Pro instead of offering two devices: a high end lux Macbook Air and a true heavy duty truck. by trying to save production costs or something they angered a whole bunch of pros ).
Actually there is no power GPU version RIGHT THROUGH APPLE’S CURRENT LINE: That’s why Apple has to shove External GPU’s at developers!
Like I said sad that the greatest tech company in the world can’t actually make their own app software on their own macs without cobbling it with someone else’s GPU.
shoot you can’t even PLAY SOME HIGH END GAMES properly on most Macs. (you need a mac costing more than two thousand to play some games and that not well… )
A high end PC has 2-3 times the power of the highest end Macs in GPU.
AND going back to the Mac Pro, not only not updated since 2013, it is also UNLIKE the previous Tower, not user upgradable for the GPU. thus severely limiting it’s use.
Apple has not run mac ads for ages. Not even cheap Web ads or social media campaigns. Jobs ran one NEW Mac Ad a month (66 Mac Pc guy ads over 4 years) which dwindled when Cook became CEO to zero now.
Look at my financial figures : 5.6 billion last quarter without ads and with slow or no updates. Imagine if they had paid serious attention to Macs over the years, COMPOUNDED increase in sales say just an extra 5-10% a year would mean billions more a year.
etc etc etc.
Still think they’ve not neglected Macs ?
Davewrite, surely you saw the articles published in recent months addressing the plans for the new iMac Pro and Mac Pro?! If Apple fails to produce per those plans or the resulting products are subpar, then you can gripe. Until then, please spare us your angst. The update concerns with the Mac Pro and mini have been hashed out ad nauseum on this forum. You are late to the game.
You are late to your period.
I’m actually happy that apple said something about the Mac Pro and the iMac Pro.
But I will keep harping on Macs until I actually see the products and I don’t understand why they can’t SPEED UP THE PROCESSES as they seem to have so many resources for so much other stuff.
Note: I’m not ‘late to the game’ , i was one of those complaining about the cylinder Mac Pro and the neutering of the Mini etc YEARS ago (until now).
The other reason I will keep harping is that I note :Federighi the software guy was at the Mac Pro apology/update meeting but the Mac Pro was NOT a software issue. The chief of hardware who is most responsible for the Cylinder and probably the second most powerful person at Apple Ive was NOT there. I’m not sure how committed he is to the pro macs — if he says it’s not on — they will be dead or if he wants a THIN WEIRD SHAPED DISASTER they will also built it . So I will not let up.. to make sure there is some voice that Macs with particular features are important to us.
I don’t know what the latest news is as I’ve not checked but as of July there still isn’t a 32 GB Macbook Pro option as rumoured. A 16GB mac is a joke for true high end work. So who knows whats going to happen with the other high end macs in the pipeline. so I’m just going to keep talking about it…
if people don’t get what I’m saying:
(let me repeat):
NETFLIX LOSES MONEY.
(it’s cash negative after expenses)
and another way to look at it:
The largest grossing movies of All TIME (adjusted for inflation) Wikipedia :
Gone with the Wind: 3.4 billion
Avatar 3 billion
Star Wars 2.8 billion
MACS MADE 5.6 BILLION LAST QUARTER (IN 3 MONTHS).
i.e. Macs in a quiet non Christmas quarter just blew away all top movies EVER.
IT MAKES 20-30 BILLION REGULARLY EVERY YEAR. Make those billions like clock work without breaking a sweat (unlike Movie houses, that make TONS of shows that LOSE MONEY. Blockbusters are rarer than hens-teeth. )
yet ZERO Mac advertising. Although there a belated turn around with Kaby Lake Macs for some units, other macs not updated for 3-5 years. Apple hiring TV and movie staff.
It really confuses me.
(not against expanding but bread and butter first before ‘hobbies’ ).
(and flamers don’t go into ‘services’ is expanding argument , as I explained before a lot of Apple service revenue comes from Apple Warranties which are listed under ‘services’ and 70% of app, Music etc revenues go to developers and production houses, the other 30% is to run those billion dollar server farms, bank payment costs etc — that’s why Netflix, Spotify lose money )
The word “makes” typically refers to profit, but you’re using it to mean gross sales, except for Netflix, which obviously “makes” (by your definition) lots of money.
That aside, Netflix gets revenue *only* from the monthly subscriptions. They don’t sell anything Apple will get revenue not only from subscriptions, but it will also make Apple gear more attractive. It’ll be one more reason why some people buy Apple products. Not to everyone, of course, not even the majority, but all those reasons add up.
I’m not sure what you are talking about.
Perhaps I’m stating it wrong by making it ‘simple’ here’s what the experts say (you decide whether they make money) (from what i understand Netflix survives by borrowing money).
CNBC July 2017
“Last quarter, Netflix said it would spend over $1 billion in 2017 on marketing costs alone, projecting that the company would have negative free cash flow for “many years” as it invests in original content. On Monday, the company noted it expects $2 billion to $2.5 billion of negative free cash flow this year, a steeper shortfall than the $2 billion in negative free cash flow forecast last quarter.”
this was BEFORE Disney said it would be dropping Netflix.
Netflix negative cash flow would be OK (not all negative cash flow is bad) …IF .. (that’s a big if)…they keep growing in subscribers and they keep having hits and content (like Disney! ) . (Netflix’s argument is that they are borrowing money so that their FUTURE profits would cover their borrowing… )
that sounds more crap shoot than Macs…
Macs make billions in revenue. Minus expenses, it makes billions in profit (30-40% of revenues) every quarter.
—–
look, as i’ve said over and over again I’m not against expanding, but why neglect Macs? Why hire TV etc people when you don’t update all your Macs, don’t run Mac advertising. Even those that were updated were the end of a sad story : the Sky Lake macs came at the END of the cycle (so for a long time Macs were underpowered) — that’s why the Kaby Lake Macs came so fast after the Mac Book Pro Sky Lake version.
(I believe they rushed the Kaby Lake macs out desperately as they needed power for AR/VR work and 3D design for the hardware labs and even then they had to sell External GPUs to developers as Mac GPUs are too weak . )
forward all complaints to:
Pipeline Timmy, CEO
Apple inc
One Infinite Circle Jerk
Cupertino CA
Agree totally.
And I’ll put it in a nutshell. Yesterday I was talking to the head of IT purchasing advocating for a MacPro to run specialized graphics software.
He replied immediately that the company would not shell out five grand for five year old tech over a PC twice as fast (conservatively speaking) at HALF the COST.
I had no reply.
Thank you Tim Cook …
yes, I hope Apple higher ups read your post:
“He replied immediately that the company would not shell out five grand”
As I’ve often said Apple is leaving EASY money on the ground. Hackintosh folks (without the aid of a 5 billion dollar Campus) can build faster Pro Macs so why is it taking so long?
They must have iMacs etc connected to eGPUs in that new multibillion campus (as they pushed eGPUs at developers at WWDC since Macs are not powerful enough for new Apple AR/VR software etc) Using eGPUs because your Macs are not powerful enough in a showcase campus of the ‘greatest tech company’ is in my mind a sizeable embarrassment. Ive had ‘specially milled hand crafted door handles, TABLES etc ‘, i.e the tables were more important than the Macs on them…
Fingers crossed but here it what I hope would happen with the new MacPro.
Expandibilty and upgrade ability for years to come. Consumer request GRANDE!
Bag the premium pricing cause you have already been beat for YEARS NOW by PCs FASTER and much LESS EXPENSIVE …
… is this to watch or produce TV then?
I guess it takes time to turn a tanker around, just wish the skipper had decided to do it before the competing fleet was launched.