Apple is reportedly reassessing its spending on original content for Apple TV+ after investing an estimated $20 billion. According to Bloomberg, Apple executive Eddy Cue has been in discussions with studio heads Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht about reducing budgets and changing the platform’s image as a heavy spender.
The company has made significant financial commitments for various projects, such as a $250 million miniseries titled “Masters of Air,” which had little impact upon release. Additionally, Apple has invested over $500 million in films directed by notable filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn.
Despite the large expenditures, Apple TV+ holds only 0.2% of the television viewership market in the United States, attracting fewer viewers in a month than Netflix does within a single day. The service has also struggled to grow its subscriber base.
Although Apple TV+ has not raised significant concern within the company—given that streaming isn’t central to its business model—the trend of unlimited spending appears to be drawing to a close. This shift is further underscored by the company’s hesitance to renew existing shows for third seasons.
Notably, Apple TV+ stands out as the last major streaming platform without an advertising tier, a situation that may soon change following the hiring of Joseph Cady, a former NBCUniversal ad executive, earlier this year.