“It’s been almost exactly a year since Apple hired two executives from Sony Pictures Television to lay the groundwork for a new, premium Apple video service,” Jason Snell writes for Macworld. “In the intervening 12 months, Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg have staffed up their operation with heavy hitters from the television programming and development world, and Apple has since bought at least 18 original series, an animated feature, and of course, an overall deal with Oprah.”
“It takes a long time to make TV shows, so we might not see the fruits of Erlicht and Van Amburg’s work until 2019,” Snell writes. “But because the entertainment industry is even leakier than Apple’s hardware supply chain, we learn the details of Apple’s content deals pretty much as soon as they’re made. What remains in Apple’s control is the big picture about where all the stuff it’s buying is going to live, who’s going to see it, and what it’s going to cost.”
“I am going to force myself to make those hard decisions, as if I were an Apple executive,” Snell writes. “What do I think is the most likely course of action for Apple’s service? It’s time to stop hedging and risk being dead wrong in public.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Snell thinks that an “Apple TV” subscription will cost $7.99 per month and allow all members of a family watch in 4K HDR and, if you’re a paying Apple Music subscriber, Apple will also offer a “Music & TV bundle” that will cost less than it would to subscribe to each separately.
We think it’ll cost $9.99 per month and we’d love to see not just a Music & TV bundle, but the option of rolling in Apple’s other services, too:
What we really want to see is an “Apple Prime,” as described by Goldman Sachs analysts Simona Jankowski and Drew Borst in an October 2016 note to clients. This “Apple Prime” subscription would include the Apple Music service, access to the iTunes library of TV shows and movies (some for free), Apple’s forthcoming original content, and exclusive sports programming.
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Further, we’d really like to see a way to pay for all of the Apple services we choose for one price. Give us a bunch of tick boxes and let us choose our combination of iCloud storage, Apple Music, iTunes Match, etc. and let us pay a single price for all of our choices. — MacDailyNews, October 17, 2016
SEE ALSO:
Apple intends to beat Netflix on price with standalone subscription to original content – June 19, 2018
Apple developing new original drama ‘Are You Sleeping’ starring Octavia Spencer – January 3, 2018
Three more Amazon Studios executives move to Apple – December 26, 2017
Apple orders space drama series from ‘Battlestar Galactica’ producer Ronald D. Moore – December 15, 2017
Apple gives Jennifer Aniston-Reese Witherspoon series a 2-season order, confirms Spielberg’s ‘Amazing Stories’ reboot – November 9, 2017
Apple outbids Netflix for show starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon – November 8, 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
Apple’s Eddy Cue alienated cable providers and networks with an assertive negotiating style – report – July 28, 2016
Ah, yeah… I’m kinda wondering how it’d be possible to care less.
Ha! Equally balanced opposite opinions on the importance of the idiot box, eh?
Basically everyone wants free media and nobody wants to pay for it. Hence they let Google have dominant power in the advertising world. Price will never be that low for video if Apple wants to make money on it.
Just as people are upset about being forced to buy cable channels full of garbage programs instead of being allowed a real ala carte choice, this idea of building a service combining music, sports, and Apple’s exciting new video sounds like a complicated mess little different than existing offerings.
Apple’s rumored video strategy sounds like Timmy is just following Netflix. No surprise, Timmy hasn’t ever had an original thought in his head.