Apple is aware of the excessive spending on original TV shows and movies that many viewers may be unfamiliar with.
According to a report by Bloomberg, the company is reevaluating its strategy for Apple TV+ after investing a staggering $20 billion in original content. Apple executive Eddy Cue has been in discussions with studio heads Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht about the need to control budgets better. The executives have been communicating a desire to move away from the perception of being the industry’s top spender.
Significant financial commitments have been made by Apple for various projects, such as the $250 million spent on the miniseries “Masters of Air,” which was released this year but failed to gain traction. Bloomberg also noted investments exceeding $500 million in feature films from notable directors like Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn.
Despite the heavy expenditure, Apple TV+ captures merely 0.2% of TV viewership in the United States, with its monthly views falling short of Netflix’s viewership within a single day. The platform has encountered difficulties in growing its subscriber base as well.
Although Apple has not expressed significant concern over Apple TV+’s challenges, as streaming services do not constitute its primary business focus, the era of unrestricted spending may be coming to an end. Signs of this shift are evident in the company’s hesitance to renew shows for third seasons, as indicated by Bloomberg’s data.
Notably, Apple TV+ remains the last major streaming platform without an ad-supported option, a situation likely to change following the recruitment of Joseph Cady, a former ad executive from NBCUniversal, earlier this year.