Apple is reportedly reassessing its spending on original content for Apple TV+, which has seen a staggering $20 billion investment. The company is said to be engaging in discussions aimed at tightening budgets after receiving feedback that its current expenditure is unsustainable.
Apple executives, including Eddy Cue, have been in talks with studio heads Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht to shift the platform’s reputation away from being the highest-spending player in the industry. Notably, significant investments have included $250 million for the miniseries “Masters of Air,” which premiered this year with minimal impact.
Furthermore, the streaming service has invested over $500 million on films from notable directors such as Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn. Despite these financial commitments, Apple TV+ holds only 0.2% of total TV viewership in the U.S., attracting fewer viewers in a month than Netflix captures within a single day. The platform has also faced challenges in growing its subscriber base.
While Apple’s core business does not rely heavily on streaming, the company appears to be winding down its unrestricted spending habits, as indicated by its hesitance to commit to third seasons of shows. Additionally, Apple TV+ is currently the only major streaming service that does not offer an ad-supported tier, although this may soon change following the hiring of Joseph Cady, an advertising executive from NBCUniversal, earlier this year.