Apple is reportedly reassessing its spending strategy for original content on Apple TV+, having invested around $20 billion in shows and movies that have not gained widespread recognition. According to Bloomberg, Apple executive Eddy Cue has been in discussions with Apple TV+ studio heads Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht about controlling production budgets and improving the platform’s reputation for excessive spending.
Notable expenditures include $250 million on the miniseries “Masters of Air,” which was released this year but did not garner much attention. The company has also invested over $500 million on films from notable directors such as Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn.
Despite these substantial investments, Apple TV+ holds only 0.2% of the television viewership in the United States, receiving fewer views in a month than Netflix attracts in just a single day, and subscriber growth has been sluggish.
While the streaming service’s issues have not significantly impacted Apple’s overall operations since streaming is not a primary focus for the tech company, signs indicate that its period of unlimited spending may be coming to an end. This shift is reflected in the company’s hesitancy to renew certain series for third seasons.
Apple TV+ currently operates without an ad-supported tier, a structure that is expected to change following the hiring of Joseph Cady, a former ad executive from NBCUniversal, earlier this year.