Apple is reportedly reassessing its spending on original programming for Apple TV+, having disbursed around $20 billion on content. According to a Bloomberg report, Apple executive Eddy Cue has been in discussions with Apple TV+ studio leaders Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht about controlling budgets and changing the platform’s reputation as the biggest spender in the industry.
The company has made significant investments in various projects, including $250 million for the miniseries “Masters of Air,” released this year with minimal impact. Additionally, Apple has spent over $500 million on films by acclaimed directors like Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn.
Despite this heavy expenditure, Apple TV+ captures only 0.2% of TV viewership in the United States, attracting significantly fewer viewers in a month than Netflix does in just a single day, and it has struggled to grow its subscriber base.
While Apple does not appear overly concerned about the challenges facing Apple TV+, as streaming is not central to its business model, it’s clear that the era of unrestricted spending may soon be ending. This change may already be reflected in the company’s reluctance to renew series for third seasons.
Moreover, Apple TV+ remains the only major streaming service without an advertising tier, a situation likely to change following the hiring of Joseph Cady, a former NBCUniversal advertising executive, earlier this year.