Apple TV+: Will Apple focus on saving money in future?
Companies have invested heavily in the hype surrounding streaming. Apple now wants to pay more attention to costs, according to a report.
Good money: Apple's "Morning Show" for TV+.
(Image: Apple)
The iPhone manufacturer has already invested billions in new content for its Apple TV+ streaming service. The company has been very successful artistically, with 72 Emmy nominations for shows and documentaries this year. The movie "Coda" even won an Oscar. The only question is when the Netflix competition will become financially viable. It is reportedly still well in the red. As the financial news agency Bloomberg reported on Monday, Apple is now planning to put the brakes on costs - at least partially.
20 billion invested?
"Years of losses" lie behind TV+, while Netflix is now back in the black and has increased its profits more than sevenfold since 2019. The service also has significantly more users, with around 280 million subscribers worldwide. According to Bloomberg, Apple has already invested over 20 billion US dollars in the production of films and TV series that only run on TV+.
But now the company apparently wants more for its money. Insiders who spoke to Bloomberg say that content and services boss Eddy Cue regularly meets his studio bosses Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht to discuss the budget. They want to get rid of the image of being the biggest spenders in Hollywood.
Little money in the cinema
Although Netflix spends more overall, Apple pays a lot for individual productions. This includes over half a billion dollars for several top films by directors such as Martin Scorsese, Matthew Vaugn and Ridley Scott. The mini-series "Masters of the Air" alone is said to have cost over 250 million dollars.
Many of the films would have generated little revenue at the box office. Netflix series in foreign languages should find more users. Overall, Apple only reaches 0.2 percent of US viewers with TV+, while Netflix is at 8 percent. Growth is weak, say analysts. Apple should now be quicker to cancel series and films. They also no longer want to pay so much for individual stars.
The growing services business
In the first series of "The Morning Show", the two leading actresses Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston alone are said to have been paid one million dollars per episode. In season 4, this is said to have increased to more than two million. The fees alone are said to have amounted to 50 million. This is well received by the creative community, which seems to regard Apple as a paradise.
In fact, the company earns most of its money from hardware sales, even though the services business is growing steadily. It is also problematic that Hollywood players see Apple as having deep pockets - which in turn leads to a kind of "Apple tax". In some cases, the company no longer has such a free hand when content is offered to it.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
(bsc)