Apple is reassessing its spending on original content for Apple TV+, reportedly realizing that it has invested an astonishing $20 billion without yielding significant results. This initiative follows discussions among Apple executives to rein in budgets, with Eddy Cue meeting with studio heads Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht. The aim is to change the perception of Apple TV+ as the industry’s top spender.
This year alone, Apple spent $250 million on the miniseries “Masters of Air,” which did not receive much attention. Additionally, the company has invested over $500 million in films from renowned directors including Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn.
Despite this hefty investment, Apple TV+ holds only a 0.2% share of TV viewership in the United States, attracting fewer viewers in a month than Netflix does in just one day. The service has also experienced challenges in growing its subscriber base.
While Apple’s streaming issues have not seemed to alarm the company, as it is not a core part of its business model, the era of unrestricted spending appears to be coming to an end. This is evidenced by Apple’s hesitance to renew certain series for additional seasons.
Apple TV+ remains the only major streaming platform without an advertising tier, but that may soon change following the recent hiring of Joseph Cady, an executive from NBCUniversal.