Apple is reportedly aware of its excessive spending on TV shows and movies that often go unnoticed by audiences. According to Bloomberg, the company has invested around $20 billion in original content for its streaming service Apple TV+, prompting discussions among executives regarding budget constraints.
Apple’s Eddy Cue has been meeting with studio heads Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht to discuss reducing expenditures as the platform seeks to move away from its image as the biggest spender in the industry. This includes previous high-profile investments, such as the $250 million spent on the miniseries “Masters of Air,” which had minimal viewer engagement upon release.
The report highlights that Apple has also allocated more than $500 million to films from renowned directors like Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn. Despite this significant financial outlay, Apple TV+ holds just 0.2% of TV viewership in the United States, with viewership figures lagging behind rivals like Netflix, which can accumulate more views in a single day than Apple does in a month.
Although Apple TV+ faces challenges in growing its subscriber base, the company seems relatively unconcerned, given that streaming is not central to its business model. Nevertheless, the trend of unrestricted spending is reportedly shifting, as evidenced by more cautious decisions related to renewing shows for additional seasons.
Additionally, Apple TV+ remains the last of the major streaming services without an advertising tier, a situation that may soon change following the recent recruitment of Joseph Cady, an advertising executive from NBCUniversal.