Apple is aware that it has been overspending on television shows and movies that many viewers may not recognize or have even heard of.
The company is reportedly reevaluating its strategy for Apple TV+ following substantial investments totaling around $20 billion in original content, as reported by Bloomberg.
Apple executive Eddy Cue has been in discussions with Apple TV+ studio heads Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, focusing on reducing budgets. The studio chiefs have indicated a desire for the platform to shed its image as the largest spender in the industry.
Among Apple’s lavish expenditures is a $250 million investment in the miniseries “Masters of Air,” which was released this year but failed to gain significant traction. The company has also invested over $500 million in films directed by notable filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn.
Despite this massive spending, Apple TV+ holds only 0.2% of total TV viewership in the United States, attracting fewer views in a month than Netflix garners in just one day, and it has had difficulties in growing its subscriber base.
Although Apple TV+’s challenges have not raised alarms within the tech giant, as streaming is not a central aspect of its business, the era of unrestricted spending appears to be coming to an end. This shift is already evidenced by the company’s hesitance to renew certain shows for a third season.
Notably, Apple TV+ is the only major streaming service without an advertising tier, a situation that may soon change following the recruitment of Joseph Cady, an advertising executive from NBCUniversal, earlier this year.