Apple is reportedly reassessing its strategy regarding Apple TV+, having invested an astonishing $20 billion in original content, much of which remains relatively unknown to audiences.
According to Bloomberg, Apple executive Eddy Cue has been in discussions with the heads of Apple TV+ studios, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, about scaling back expenses. The studio leaders are also said to be working on changing the platform’s image as the largest spender in the industry.
This spending spree included significant investments like the $250 million for the miniseries “Masters of Air,” which was released this year but garnered minimal viewership. The company has also spent over $500 million on films from renowned directors such as Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn.
Despite the vast financial outlay, Apple TV+ holds only 0.2% of the U.S. TV viewership market, attracting far fewer viewers in a month than Netflix typically garners in just 24 hours. The streaming service has struggled with subscriber growth as well.
While Apple does not seem particularly troubled by these challenges, as streaming is not central to its business model, it appears ready to cut back on its unrestricted spending, which has already been reflected in its hesitance to renew shows for third seasons, as per Bloomberg’s findings.
Notably, Apple TV+ is the only major streaming service that does not offer an ad-supported tier, but this may soon change following the appointment of Joseph Cady, an advertising executive from NBCUniversal, earlier this year.