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Step aside Netflix! Move over Amazon Prime! Hulu? More like plain old “Who”? Because fresh speculation has emerged that Apple could be getting into the original programming game.
Unfortunately we don’t have much more than speculation at the moment – with Apple declining to comment on developments.
Variety magazine has reported, from a number of sources, that Apple has held preliminary conversations with Hollywood execs on its interest in spearheading efforts to produce entertainment content.
According to Variety, the Apple people involved in these talks report to Eddy Cue. He’s the guy involved in all Apple’s content-related matters. This includes all things Apple TV, but he was also involved in some recent headline-grabbers such as the showdown with Taylor Swift.
A high-level exec who’s been in talks with Apple said the tech titan was looking to create development and production divisions tasked with creating long-form content to compete in the video streaming world.
The source said headhunting for roles in the new divisions could begin in the next few months.
Of course there are far more questions left unanswered – here are just a few.
1. Will Apple be focusing on TV series or movies?
2. Is the plan to thrash out deals with people already making content (like Netflix), or set up an internal studio (like Microsoft’s troubled Xbox model).
3. Is Apple going to switch from purchasing to subscriptions (it did so with Apple Music recently) – and if so, what’s that all-important price-tag going to be?
4. Advertising. Will that be involved in any new strategy?
5. Will Apple be making expensive long-form scripted content, or cheaper unscripted stuff (like the content YouTube invests in).
6. And finally: We just don’t know how big this is going to be.
Not really. There have been rumours about Apple moving into original programming ever since Steve Jobs teamed up with the studios to make TV shows and movies available on iTunes a decade ago.
For years now Apple has also been interested in independent film, snapping up content on the festival circuit for distribution on iTunes.
More recently, it is said that Apple put in an unprecedented bid for the stars of Top Gear. In the end Amazon won the contest to secure Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond.
In music, Apple has already started its original programming journey – for example with Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio offering.
Obviously, Apple making moves into any market is a pretty big deal for companies already operating there. Services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu will no doubt be watching developments with considerable wariness.
For the studios, Apple entering the content world could prove a mixed bag. On the one hand, another big competitor will likely draw even more customers from traditional pay-TV. But it’ll also mean a possible new buyer for content the studios produce.
The final obvious consequence – especially with a company so well-funded and polished as Apple – will be personnel. Expect to hear a few big names in the content production world jumping ship once Apple has made its move.
