Apple is aware that it may be overspending on television shows and films that are largely unfamiliar to viewers. The company is reevaluating its strategy for Apple TV+ after investing an impressive $20 billion in original content, as reported by Bloomberg.
According to the report, Apple executive Eddy Cue has been in discussions with the heads of Apple TV+ studios, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, to curtail budgets. Van Amburg and Erlicht have indicated that the streaming service aims to move away from its image as the industry’s largest spender.
Apple has made significant investments in projects such as the $250 million miniseries “Masters of Air,” which debuted this year without much impact. Additionally, it has allocated over $500 million for films from renowned directors like Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn.
Despite these considerable expenditures, Apple TV+ holds only a 0.2% share of TV viewership in the United States, attracting fewer viewers in a month than Netflix does in just a single day. The platform has also faced challenges in growing its subscriber base.
Although Apple has not appeared overly concerned about the issues facing Apple TV+, as streaming is not central to its business model, it seems the era of limitless spending may be coming to an end. This is reflected in the company’s hesitance to renew shows for third seasons, based on data from Bloomberg.
Notably, Apple TV+ is the last significant streaming service without an advertising tier, a situation that may soon change following the recent hiring of Joseph Cady, a former executive from NBCUniversal.