Hey Netflix, Apple reportedly has $1 billion to spend on new TV shows
Apple dipped a toe into TV. Now it's preparing to do a cannonball.
Apple has set aside $1 billion for original video over the next year, according to the Wall Street Journal. The money would go to as many as 10 different shows in an attempt to put Apple on the map alongside Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and many other companies that are making high-end internet-delivered video.
Just where those shows would appear is not immediately clear, as Apple doesn't have a dedicated video platform... yet. The two original shows it has made so far ("Planet of the Apps" and "Carpool Karaoke") were in Apple Music.
What is clear is Apple's growing ambition to create original content, signaling a new era for the hardware-focused company. Apple still derives the vast bulk of its revenue from iPhone sales, with a growing chunk coming from the apps on its devices.
Apple's presence in livings rooms has also grown thanks to the success of its Apple TV box, which streams video over the internet.
Apple's $1 billion is a huge step toward competing with other tech and media giants, but only about half as much as HBO spent last year, the Journal noted. Netflix will spend around $7 billion on content in 2018.
Topics Apple
Jason Abbruzzese is a Business Reporter at Mashable. He covers the media and telecom industries with a particular focus on how the Internet is changing these markets and impacting consumers. Prior to working at Mashable, Jason served as Markets Reporter and Web Producer at the Financial Times. Jason holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University and an M.A. in International Affairs from Australian National University.
