Apple is reevaluating its spending on original content for Apple TV+, as reports suggest the company has invested around $20 billion on shows and movies that have largely gone unnoticed by viewers. According to Bloomberg, Apple executive Eddy Cue has been in discussions with the service’s studio leaders, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, about the possibility of reducing budgets. They aim to shift the platform’s image away from being perceived as the industry’s largest spender.
Apple has made significant financial commitments, including $250 million for the miniseries “Masters of Air,” which premiered this year but garnered minimal attention. Additionally, the company has spent over $500 million on films from renowned directors such as Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn.
Despite these massive expenditures, Apple TV+ has captured only 0.2% of total TV viewership in the United States, attracting far fewer viewers in a month than Netflix does in just one day. The platform has also faced challenges in subscriber growth.
Although the streaming segment is not central to Apple’s overall business strategy, the company appears to be shifting towards more controlled spending, as indicated by a reluctance to renew shows for third seasons. Notably, Apple TV+ remains the last major streaming service without an ad-supported tier, a situation likely to change after the hiring of Joseph Cady, an advertising executive from NBCUniversal.