Apple is rethinking its approach to Apple TV+, following reports that indicate the company has spent around $20 billion on original content, much of which has gone unnoticed by audiences.
Bloomberg has revealed that Apple executive Eddy Cue has been in discussions with studio heads Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht regarding budget cuts. They aim to shift away from being perceived as the highest spender in the industry. Apple has invested heavily in projects, such as the $250 million miniseries “Masters of Air,” which debuted this year but failed to gain significant attention.
In addition, Apple has spent over $500 million on films from renowned directors like Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn. Despite this investment, Apple TV+ holds only 0.2% of television viewership in the U.S., garnering fewer views in a month than Netflix attracts in just 24 hours, and it has faced challenges in growing its subscriber base.
Though this spending issue hasn’t alarmed Apple much, given that streaming is not central to its business model, the trend of unrestricted spending may be coming to an end. The company has already begun showing hesitance in renewing shows for third seasons.
Notably, Apple TV+ is the last major streaming service yet to offer an ad-supported tier, but that may soon change as the company recently hired ad executive Joseph Cady from NBCUniversal.