Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Apple Announces Its Long-Awaited Streaming TV Service
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
March 25, 2019

Share

CUPERTINO — Apple announced a new streaming service, Apple TV Plus, which will house its original shows and movies and could compete with Netflix, Amazon and cable TV itself.

Apple is making the announcements at its Cupertino, California, headquarters, in a Monday event studded with celebrities including Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Anniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell. The iPhone has long been Apple’s marquee product and main money maker, but sales are starting to decline . The company is pushing digital subscriptions as it searches for new growth.

The company also laid out the details of its news subscription service, Apple News Plus, and a new credit card.

The news service costs $10 a month and includes roughly 300 magazines and a handful of major newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times. Missing from the announcement were other major newspaper publishers, who have reportedly been wary of Apple’s terms. Apple says advertisers won’t track readers inside the app. That distinguishes it from Facebook and Google, the other major online news hubs.

The company also said it is launching a MasterCard credit card called Apple Card. It will integrate Apple Maps to show users where they spend money, but at the same time, Apple says it won’t know where you spend or where.

It won’t have any late fees or annual fees and offer 2 percent cash back. Other cards also offer cash-back rewards.

But the biggest splash was its video service. Apple also noted Monday that its Apple TV app brings together different streaming services and traditional cable subscriptions.

Expected to Have Original TV Shows and Movies

Netflix, which didn’t show up during Apple’s presentation, turned “binge watching” into a worldwide phenomenon several years ago. Apple’s new video service is expected to have original TV shows and movies that reportedly cost it more than $1 billion — far less than Netflix and HBO spend every year.

Making must-have TV shows and movies that are watchable on any device has turned Netflix into a force in both Silicon Valley and Hollywood.

“Apple is very late to this game. Netflix has become the gold standard in how to create and distribute content, using all the data they have about their viewers.” — eMarketer analyst Paul Verna

But Apple remained focused on making on gadgets: iPhones, iPads, computers and its Apple TV streaming box for TVs. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs began toying with the idea of building a powerful TV business, but he couldn’t pull it off before his death in 2011. It has taken his successor, CEO Tim Cook, nearly eight years to draw up the script that the company will now try to execute.

“Apple is very late to this game,” eMarketer analyst Paul Verna said. “Netflix has become the gold standard in how to create and distribute content, using all the data they have about their viewers.”

Netflix’s prowess has attracted 139 million subscribers worldwide. But Apple will have several other deep-pocketed competitors fighting for consumers’ dollars. Amazon has also become a formidable force in video streaming. Walt Disney Co. is launching its own service this year, armed with an imposing library that became more formidable with its purchase of 21st Century Fox’s films and TV series. AT&T is debuting another streaming service built around HBO.

Apple has plenty of money to spend, though, with about $245 billion in cash and marketable securities. It must prove itself attractive to Hollywood even without a track record for supporting high-quality programming and then ensuring it gets widely seen.

As part of its efforts to make quick connections, Apple hired two longtime Sony television executives, Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, in 2017. They have signed up stars such as Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Sofia Coppola, who spoke during a video Monday.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Authorities Seek Help Finding Relatives of Deceased Fresno Man

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Felecia Johnson

DON'T MISS

How in the World Did Fresno End Up on Trump’s Sanctuary Cities List?

DON'T MISS

X Marks the Spot: Bruised Musk Says His Young Son Punched Him

DON'T MISS

PBS Suing Trump Administration Over Defunding, Three Days After NPR Filed Similar Case

DON'T MISS

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

DON'T MISS

San Francisco 49ers Acquire Eagles Edge Rusher Bryce Huff, AP Source Says

DON'T MISS

California Lawmaker Won’t Be Charged After Citation for Suspicion of Impaired Driving

DON'T MISS

California School Awards Dinner at Disneyland Comes With Hefty Price Tag

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Release Video of Officer-Involved Shooting

UP NEXT

California Lawmaker Won’t Be Charged After Citation for Suspicion of Impaired Driving

UP NEXT

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

UP NEXT

Dozens Sickened in Expanding Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Recalled Cucumbers

UP NEXT

Newsom Tussles With Local Officials Over Homelessness

UP NEXT

How Trump’s Vow to Revoke Chinese Student Visas Could Hurt California

UP NEXT

Speaker Johnson Raises Campaign Money in Fresno

UP NEXT

A Program Paying CA Jurors $100 a Day Would End Due to Newsom’s Budget Cuts

UP NEXT

‘I’m Really Scared’: Elderly and Disabled Californians Could Lose Medi-Cal Over $2,000 Limit

UP NEXT

California Avocado Growers Say Mexican Imports Have Helped Their Sales

UP NEXT

Business Insider Cuts 21% of Workforce, Memo Shows

X Marks the Spot: Bruised Musk Says His Young Son Punched Him

8 hours ago

PBS Suing Trump Administration Over Defunding, Three Days After NPR Filed Similar Case

9 hours ago

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

10 hours ago

San Francisco 49ers Acquire Eagles Edge Rusher Bryce Huff, AP Source Says

10 hours ago

California Lawmaker Won’t Be Charged After Citation for Suspicion of Impaired Driving

10 hours ago

California School Awards Dinner at Disneyland Comes With Hefty Price Tag

11 hours ago

Fresno Police Release Video of Officer-Involved Shooting

12 hours ago

Hamas Says It Is Still Reviewing a US Proposal for a Gaza Ceasefire

12 hours ago

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

12 hours ago

Oreo Maker Mondelez Sues Aldi, Alleging Grocery Chain Copies Its Packaging to Confuse Customers

12 hours ago

Authorities Seek Help Finding Relatives of Deceased Fresno Man

The Fresno County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office is asking for the public’s help in locating family members of a Fresno man who died last month. F...

7 hours ago

The Fresno County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office is seeking the public’s help to locate the family of Felipe Pech, 68, of Fresno, who died on April 23, 2025. (Fresno County SO)
7 hours ago

Authorities Seek Help Finding Relatives of Deceased Fresno Man

Felecia Johnson is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for May 30, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
8 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Felecia Johnson

8 hours ago

How in the World Did Fresno End Up on Trump’s Sanctuary Cities List?

8 hours ago

X Marks the Spot: Bruised Musk Says His Young Son Punched Him

9 hours ago

PBS Suing Trump Administration Over Defunding, Three Days After NPR Filed Similar Case

10 hours ago

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

10 hours ago

San Francisco 49ers Acquire Eagles Edge Rusher Bryce Huff, AP Source Says

10 hours ago

California Lawmaker Won’t Be Charged After Citation for Suspicion of Impaired Driving

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend