Apple is reevaluating its spending on original content for Apple TV+, reportedly investing around $20 billion on shows and movies over recent years. According to Bloomberg, the company’s executive Eddy Cue has been in discussions with studio heads Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht about reducing budgets and changing the perception of Apple TV+ as the biggest spender in the industry.
Apple’s hefty investments include $250 million for the miniseries “Masters of Air,” which received a lukewarm reception upon its release. Additionally, the company has spent over $500 million on films from renowned directors such as Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn.
Despite these expenditures, Apple TV+ holds a mere 0.2% share of television viewership in the United States, attracting significantly fewer viewers in a month than Netflix does in just 24 hours. The platform has also struggled to boost its subscriber numbers.
While the challenges facing Apple TV+ do not seem to alarm the tech giant—considering streaming is not central to its business model—the unlimited spending phase appears to be coming to an end. This shift is evidenced by the company’s hesitance to renew certain shows for third seasons, as per Bloomberg’s findings.
Currently, Apple TV+ stands out as the last major streaming service without an ad-supported tier, a situation likely to change following the recruitment of Joseph Cady, an advertising executive from NBCUniversal, earlier this year.