There are a lot of video streaming services on the market with others expected to launch in 2020. Though it's not the largest or most publicized, Apple TV+ could eventually have the most lasting impact among the growing list of web-based content providers.
The reason? Apple TV+, which launched in November, is focused exclusively on developing and airing original content, while everyone else hopes to lure subscribers largely by offering older titles. In the long-run, this difference could prove significant, especially as users grow tired of paying multiple susbscriptions for home entertainment.
100% exclusive content for the price of a cup of coffee.
With TV+, you can watch well-produced, big-budget TV shows from famed directors, and starring award-winning actors and actresses across all your Apple devices and with up to six members of your Family Sharing group.
Not about reruns
Like many of my generation, I grew up on "Friends," the 30-minute comedy that ran for 10 seasons on NBC and launched the careers of Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and the four other Central Perk inhabitants. When word leaked that a "Friends" reunion would launch on the upcoming HBO Max premium video service, there was undoubtedly a collective cheer around the world.
And then Apple CEO Tim Cook told shareholders there was no chance that "Friends" would ever have shown up on Apple TV+. As he explained, "We love 'Friends,' but it's not what Apple TV+ is about. Apple TV+ is about original programming. It doesn't feel right for Apple to just go out and take a rerun." In other words, Apple's all-in on Aniston (who also stars in Apple's "The Morning Show,") but not her past character, Rachel Green.
Reruns play a massive role in every other streaming service. At least for now, this has been enough to sign up the masses. Take Disney+, for example, which also launched late last year. Thanks to its already large library of Star Wars, Marvel Comics, and of course, Disney-branded content, the service has fast become one of the most popular in a short time.
Netflix, which currently spends more cash than any other company on the most number of original titles each year, also counts on older series to keep it moving full steam ahead. Until December, when it left the service, for example, "Friends" was Netflix's second-most viewed series behind the early 2000s workplace comedy, "The Office."
HBO Max, which launches in May, like others before it, will also rely heavily on older titles to gain early adopters and maintain monthly subscribers, as will Peacock, NBC's entry into the web-based premium video market.
And yet, here's Apple, once again thinking differently. From "Little America" to "See" to the recently launched "Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet," everything on Apple TV+ is new. Additionally, in a surprising move, the company is offering Apple TV+ free for a year to anyone who purchases an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, or Mac. And that subscription, which is usually priced at $4.99 per month, is shareable with up to six family members at no additional cost.
This one-two punch (a year-long freebie plus a regular low price) makes sense given the slow release of Apple TV+ content. However, by the time Apple TV+ celebrates its first anniversary, its library of original content for current and new subscribers alike will be secure. Better still, by that point, Apple TV+ will be available in more places than ever before.
It's all about the app
As I previously noted, Cupertino isn't just offering the Apple TV app (and hence access to Apple TV+) on Apple TV hardware and its mobile devices. Instead, it's taken the unusual step (for Apple) of offering the app on smart televisions from LG and Samsung, and also making it available on Fire TVs and Roku devices.
Apple TV app content is also available to stream from mobile devices to AirPlay 2–enabled TVs from Sony, VIZIO, and older LG and Samsung devices, and through web browsers.
And the content
Circling back around to the Apple TV+ content, it's clear Apple isn't afraid to spend what it feels is necessary to become a leader in original programming.
Back in August, The Financial Times reported Apple had initially planned on spending $1 billion to get Apple TV+ off the ground. That number had risen to over $6 billion at that point, however.
Although this dwarfs what Netflix ($17 billion) is spending on original content during 2020, it's likely higher than HBO Max and Disney+ combined.
And has often been reported, the Apple TV+ content features some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Besides Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Brie Larson, Meryl Streep, Spike Jonze, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, and many others, are on board for various projects.
A bright future
People are growing tired of paying monthly subscriptions for everything from web-based content to magazines to music. This exhaustion suggests most consumers won't subscribe to more than one all-compassing streaming video service among Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and the like.
However, given its reliance solely on original programming, Apple TV+ is poised to take a different path and continue to add subscribers while others could ultimately fail. Stay tuned!
What about Apple TV+
Do you enjoy Apple TV+? Is there something about the service you don't like? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
