Ahead of the launch of Apple TV+ this fall, a new report from The Financial Times offers new details on Apple’s investment in streaming media. According to the report, Apple’s spending for original TV shows and movies has spiked to over $6 billion.
The report cites people familiar with the matter, and says that Apple’s ballooning original content budget is part of its efforts to keep up with Netflix, HBO, and Disney. A report in 2017 said that Apple was looking to spend $1 billion on original content, but it has clearly since surpassed that.
Earlier today, Apple released the first full length trailer for its The Morning Show drama starring Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Steve Carell. That show is said to be one of the biggest investments for Apple, with per-episode spending surpassing that of Game of Thrones:
The company has spent hundreds of millions of dollars alone on a star-studded series featuring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell called The Morning Show. According to people familiar with the matter, that amounts to a higher price per episode than Game of Thrones, which reportedly cost $15m for each episode of its final season.
See, a drama starring Jason Momoa, is also said to be an expensive show for Apple TV+. A report from The Wall Street Journal earlier this year pegged that show as having a budget of $15 million per episode.
Apple’s $6 billion budget ranks below Netflix’s expected content spending of $15 billion for this year. On the other hand, Apple is said to be winning over many content creators because of how it structures deals.
Essentially, Netflix tends to pay content creators over several years. Apple, however, pays earlier in the process, “once certain milestones are hit,” the report says. This, plus its recent spending splurge, has “raised the bar for the price of television shows,” according to industry executives.
As for a launch, Apple is reportedly looking to get out ahead of Disney+, which launches on November 12th. The Financial Times says to expect an Apple TV+ launch sometime within the next two months.
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