“Apple plans to roll out the Apple TV+ movie and TV subscription service by November, part of a drive to reach $50 billion in service sales by 2020,” reports Bloomberg. Apple “is weighing $9.99 a month,” for the streaming service, after a free trial, the article says.
The Bloomberg article, by Mark Gurman, Anousha Sakoui and Lucas Shaw, adds, “The iPhone maker is entering an increasingly crowded field, led by streaming pioneer Netflix and Amazon. In the coming months, the Walt Disney Co, AT&T and NBCUniversal will debut new offerings — all targeted at the growing ranks of viewers who are canceling cable-TV subscriptions or watching on mobile devices.
“With its first foray into video subscriptions, Apple is weighing different release strategies for shows. The company is considering offering the first three episodes of some programs, followed by weekly installments, the people said.”
Bloomberg adds, “Apple’s initial slate of shows will include ‘The Morning Show,’ [with Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell] Steven Spielberg’s ‘Amazing Stories,’ ‘See’ with Jason Momoa, ‘Truth Be Told’ with Octavia Spencer, and a documentary series about extravagant houses called ‘Home.’”
Where will Apple get its content.? Disney? ATT/Warner? NBC/Universal? CBS/Viacom? Five programs will not drive a lot of long-term memberships. In one month I can watch all of these shows and then cancel. That assumes that these are programs worth paying for and watching . And it appears that there is currently no programming for children. Apple needs to announce a lot more content if they are looking for long-term subscribers. The other issue is the purported timing. If they do launch during the holiday season they will be compared to Disney which will be launching around the same time. There is a limit as to what families will pay for streaming services. With those two choices to add a new streaming service, I think Disney will be the choice for most families.