Apple Bets Billions On New Streaming Service

Apple is getting ready to launch a movie streaming service to compete with Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon. The tech conglomerate is widely expected to unveil its offering at an event on Monday and it could give us a first look at some of the exciting original programming that’s in the works.
​
Apple is already behind their competition and will have to play catchup – with Netflix especially which is pumping out new content in what seems like new television shows and new films every week.  However if anybody can dive into the content gave, it will be Apple.

One of the biggest internet debates among the nerds is what will the streaming service be called. Will it have a different name from Apple TV to distinguish it from the current device that is already available? Maybe Apple Stream or iStream? Or will it be seamlessly integrated into existing services.

The Apple TV app is probably going to be the access point for all the Apple programing. You will also likely be able to access the content via iTunes as well.

Disney is expected to unveil its streaming service, Disney+, next month, and NBCUniversal is planning to release a streaming service in 2020. Both companies will be able to rely on deep back catalogs of beloved movies and shows, making an entrance even harder for a Apple which is starting at zero.

Even though the Apple service has yet to be announced, movie acquisitions, rights deals, and orders for new TV series all get reported months before they debut. So we know a good deal about what Apple has in store for its upcoming service.

To break into that crowded market, Apple is paying a lot for its original programming — reportedly upward of $1 billion. What does it get for that amount of money? As you can imagine quite a lot. For example, Apple signed a deal with the production company behind Charles Schulz’s Peanuts, and rumour has it, Apple also ordered two Sesame Street shows, one animated, one live-action.
​
Apple also snagged an adaptation of one of the iconic science fiction novels of all-time, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation, which has long eluded film. The 10-episode series comes from David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman. It takes place in the distant future as an interstellar empire begins to collapse.

With so many other streaming services out there — we'll have a Big Six by the end of 2019 with Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Apple, Disney+ and WarnerMedia — how will Apple price its service if it doesn't have the same amount of content? Why would anyone pay the same amount (or, TV gods forbid, more) for Apple TV when everyone else has enormous vaults? I love most things Apple, but that's a no-go.

Apple has been the tech darling for over two decades now and became the first trillion dollar company although it has since dipped below that mark after poor sales. So the trillion dollar question is how will Apple fair in the uncharted territory of television? Will they revolutionize the industry as they did with mp3s and the music industry? The prevailing wisdom is that it’s unlikely.
Apple has gone from innovative tech company to a blue chip company – not a bad thing for shareholder's but it just may not be as exciting as the Steve Job days. It will of course come down to how good the content is and how