Apple tries to rein in Hollywood spending after years of losses

To be clear, because the article isn't obvious about it: the $20B figure is total expenditure since its inception, not a yearly figure.

For comparison, Netflix spent $17B in 2022, and $13B in 2023 (it was lower due to strikes). Disney spent $33B on content in 2022. Meanwhile, Apple spent $7B in 2022. (All numbers from Google top results).

So Apple's still spending significantly less than main "competitors", of course.

It's extremely weird for an article to give an all-time spending figure and then call it "unsustainable", when obviously sustainability depends entirely on spending per year compared with revenue per year, and this article doesn't even talk about the revenue side at all (Apple TV+ costs $9.99/mo. standalone.)

It's also hard to define "sustainability" when it's not even clear that Apple's goal is to make a profit directly, but may be to take a loss that is less than the perceived marketing value that this adds to the Apple aura/brand.

EDIT: my comment is referring to the original URL for this post which was https://wccftech.com/apple-tv-expenditure-crossed-20-billion... , not the Bloomberg article which the URL has since been changed to

It's a shame because Apple TV is producing some wonderful sci-fi right now, arguably they're about the only ones doing it to this level. And I'm sure it'll be first on the chopping block while the inflated budgets for the star-studded Morning Show are more likely to be maintained.

I hope I'm wrong and that Apple sees value in producing wonderful, niche TV. But at the same time that's not really Apple's ethos.

This seems like an odd spin/reeks of PR and politics more than the reality. $20B spend is just fine if you have the revenue to justify it. They've just struggled with the revenue. Killers of the Flower Moon brought in $157 million at the box office --that's without streaming revenue, but I think even that would still be considered a failure... and some of the others have been huge stinkers.

Does it have to be a money maker if it’s doing its job in bringing more value to the Apple ecosystem? I see it as more of a marketing budget.

Is Apple really eating "years of losses". Or are they making a strategic play to pick up most of the prestige television market, without needing to push an M&A through the FTC (and they're doing it, just as David Zaslav is finishing killing the historic-largest player there, as HBO dies on the vine at Warner Brothers)

To me, it sure feels like the latter.

Apple spending $20 billion to pick up all this prestige TV and Film, is kind of a great deal, when compared to say, the $43 billion Discovery just paid for Warner, just to kill half of it (and then lose another $7 billon on it over the past 2-3 years)

The entire steaming sector has become unsustainable. On the one hand, for a service to be successful in the space they have to dump millions if not billions of dollars towards developing content. The problem is that with so many streaming platforms doing the same thing dilutes the value of that content and makes it unsustainable.

I really enjoy the programming on Apple TV+. I've also never paid for it. Through various promotions and bundles I've had it continuously for 5 years $0 spent on it. Just purchasing Apple products over time I racked up 3-12 month free offers and now its bundled in my internet package.

They are also doing that traditional HBO thing where they get AAA movies for a limited time and then poof.

I'm hoping they continue to update the UI to make it easier to find new shows and viewing history.

Hmm the only thing I really thought was worth watching was for all mankind. And they've kinda painted themselves into a corner (as the show runners said, there's only so much you can do to age the characters)

It was a decent show though. But it wouldn't make me subscribe. That would take a lot more.

They could also try Goldman partnership. I am sure they'd love to get in entertainment business just to be partner with Apple.

Every company that jumped into streaming has this issue and was warned about this from the start. Even Netflix struggles from this, the simple solution is to stop billing top tier workers and lower quality. This is how you get a Frasier reboot in jeans.

Also extra funny for Apple as their projected attitude is that they are always top tier with unlimited funds.

Ballmer was quoted in the Acquired podcast about his failed acquisitions “all we lost is money”.

Apple can sustain the revenue loss as long as it has to stomach to do so and as long as it can justify it for other business reasons - like maybe making the bundle more attractive.

I have three major gripes with Apple TV (plus and otherwise)

1. The website is ass. i’ve attempted nervous times to sign into my gaming PC before giving up and using my Apple device. Great for my Apple device but ass if I ever want to watch it on my gaming PC , meaning i’m consuming less media on it. This makes it uniquely terrible for its other goal of folks purchasing their media on there since it’s linked with Apple TV. Idiotic for a streaming service.

2. There’s no consistent release of shows to watch all year round. Netflix imo is the only services that releases stuff every month. for other services this is no issue since they have a backlog of content for consumers to consume but Apple TV+ does not have this pleasure imo. for a service that relies on subscriptions for its revenue, it’s the worst to plead for its case.

3. No watch history. Whenever I hear a new show recommendation I immediately open the tv app and add it to my up next. The Tv’s app’s ability to connect to various streaming serves makes it the nexus for most media. Why the hell does it not support the opposing feature of saving the history of what just watched? It should be so easy for it to add on a Letterboxd like feature from there.

For me apple tv is something that comes with my apple one family plan. No way i would pay for it separately.

Most of the worlds population have their attention on YouTube and TikTok. Streaming services are a minuscule portion of the viewing pie. It makes no sense for talented young people to want jobs in Hollywood when it's a dying business or at best stagnating one.

Something that seems strange to me is the deal they made with MLS which I don’t think was great for MLS.

Today MLS has the problem that people think “American soccer sucks” and won’t give it a chance. I caught a game in person because I was interested in the state of American soccer and between the game and the fan experience I had a great time.

A sport that has room to grow has to be easy for people to catch a game who aren’t committed to subscribing to it. They can win people over if they can catch an occasional game for free but if it is behind a paywall 100% of the time it’s going to stay obscure. NBC runs a free Premier League game every Saturday and if you want more you can get it as part of a reasonably priced Peacock subscriptions. The deal Apple has with MLS might be a good deal for Apple but I don’t think it’s good for the sport.

They just don’t advertise their shows, at least where I live.

Am I singularly cursed or is Apple TV the worst quality platform? On a Roku, I routinely run into numerous glitches. Controls do not show, show will not start, show will die after a few minutes, will get stuck in a loop where it repeats a 10 second clip, etc.

Coincidentally, my free trial ends tomorrow, and I will not be renewing.

Maybe it's my subjective preferences, but honestly Apple TV+ kinda sucks content-wise. Also, the experience is subpar. It regularly forces you to relogin, but instead of just saying so, shows that you're logged in but all of the actual content looks like you're not logged in until you login again, and then you have to do 2-factor and re-acknowledge that all your info is correct and then go back to the apple tv+ site and login again. Maybe the experience is better if you're using apple products?

How about letting Android users watch your shows?