Apple is reevaluating its spending on television and film content for its streaming service, Apple TV+. The company has reportedly invested around $20 billion on original programming, which has not garnered the expected audience engagement.
Executive Eddy Cue has been in discussions with Apple TV+ studio heads Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht about tightening budgetary constraints. The studio heads have indicated a desire to shift the service’s image away from being the industry’s largest spender.
Apple has made significant investments in high-profile projects, including $250 million for the miniseries “Masters of Air,” which saw minimal viewership. Additionally, the company has committed over $500 million to feature films by renowned directors such as Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn.
Despite its massive expenditures, Apple TV+ captures only 0.2% of television viewership in the United States, with its monthly view numbers being overshadowed by Netflix’s single-day totals. The service has also faced challenges in subscriber growth.
Although the streaming segment is not a primary focus of Apple’s overall business, signs suggest that the era of unrestricted spending may be coming to a close. This shift is reflected in the company’s hesitance to renew shows for a third season.
Notably, Apple TV+ remains the only major streaming service that does not offer an ad-supported tier, a situation likely to change following the recent hiring of Joseph Cady, an advertising executive from NBCUniversal, earlier this year.