Apple has acknowledged that its expenditures on television shows and movies may be excessive, particularly for titles that have gone largely unnoticed. The company is reportedly reconsidering its strategy for Apple TV+ after investing an astounding $20 billion in original content, as reported by Bloomberg.
According to the outlet, Apple executive Eddy Cue has been in discussions with the studio heads of Apple TV+, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, regarding the need to control spending. Van Amburg and Erlicht have allegedly communicated a desire for the platform to move away from its image as the biggest spender in the industry.
Apple has invested heavily in productions, spending $250 million on the miniseries “Masters of Air,” which premiered this year but failed to gain significant viewership. In addition, over $500 million has been allocated to films from renowned directors such as Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn.
Despite this vast spending, Apple TV+ captures only 0.2% of television viewership in the United States, attracting fewer views in a month than Netflix achieves in just 24 hours. The platform has also faced challenges in growing its subscriber base.
Although Apple TV+ has encountered difficulties, these issues have not raised immediate concerns for the tech company, as streaming services are not fundamental to its overall business model. However, signs indicate a shift away from unrestricted spending, evidenced by the company’s hesitancy to renew shows for third seasons, according to Bloomberg’s analysis.
Notably, Apple TV+ is the last major streaming platform without an advertising tier, a situation that may soon change following the hiring of Joseph Cady, an advertising executive from NBCUniversal, earlier this year.