Apple is reassessing its spending on original content for Apple TV+, having reportedly invested around $20 billion, according to Bloomberg. The company’s executive Eddy Cue has been in discussions with studio heads Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht about scaling back budgets, as they aim to shed the image of being the largest spender in the streaming industry.
Notable expenditures include $250 million for the miniseries “Masters of Air,” which failed to gain significant traction upon release, and over $500 million on films by renowned directors like Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn.
Despite this massive investment, Apple TV+ has only captured 0.2% of TV viewership in the United States, lagging far behind competitors such as Netflix, which sees more views in just 24 hours than Apple TV+ in an entire month. The platform has also faced challenges in attracting new subscribers.
While Apple doesn’t consider streaming a core aspect of its overall business strategy, the era of unrestricted spending appears to be coming to an end, as indicated by a hesitance to renew certain shows for third seasons. Additionally, Apple TV+ still stands out as the last major streaming service without an ad-supported tier, a situation that may change with the recent hiring of ad executive Joseph Cady from NBCUniversal.