Apple is reportedly reassessing its spending strategy for Apple TV+ after investing an impressive $20 billion in original content, which has not yielded the desired results. According to Bloomberg, the tech giant’s executive, Eddy Cue, has been in discussions with Apple TV+’s studio leaders, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, about curbing production budgets. The executives aim to change the perception that Apple is the industry’s largest spender on content.
Apple has spent significant amounts on various projects, such as $250 million for the miniseries “Masters of Air,” which garnered minimal audience engagement upon its release. Additionally, over $500 million has been allocated to films by renowned directors like Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn.
Despite this substantial investment, Apple TV+ has managed to capture only 0.2% of the US TV viewership, lagging far behind competitors like Netflix, which draws more views in a single day than Apple TV+ does in a month. Furthermore, the platform has been facing challenges in subscriber growth.
Although Apple does not prioritize streaming as a core component of its business, it appears to be moving away from its unlimited spending approach. This shift is evident as the company has been hesitant to renew series for third seasons, as reported by Bloomberg.
Notably, Apple TV+ remains the only major streaming service without an ad-supported tier, although this may change following the company’s recent hiring of Joseph Cady, a former ad executive from NBCUniversal.