Apple is reassessing its spending on original content for Apple TV+, having reportedly spent about $20 billion on shows and movies that may not have gained significant audience recognition.
Executives at the company, including Eddy Cue, have been in discussions with studio heads Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht to rein in production budgets. There is a concerted effort to change the perception of Apple TV+ as the industry’s largest spender on content.
Significant amounts have been allocated to projects such as the $250 million miniseries “Masters of Air,” which launched this year but failed to capture viewer interest. Furthermore, Apple has invested over $500 million in films from renowned directors like Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn.
Despite these vast expenditures, Apple TV+ holds a mere 0.2% of the TV viewership in the U.S., attracting fewer viewers in a month than Netflix does in a single day, and it has faced challenges in boosting its subscriber base.
Although Apple doesn’t prioritize streaming as a core aspect of its business, the trend of unchecked spending appears to be winding down. This is reflected in the company’s reluctance to renew some shows for third seasons. Notably, Apple TV+ remains the only major streaming platform without an ad-supported tier, a situation that may change following the hiring of advertising executive Joseph Cady from NBCUniversal earlier this year.