Apple TV wants to go big
The streamer is the place for premium sci-fi, but can it catch up with the competition?
This isThe Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on streaming competition, followAndrew Webster.The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in forThe Stepbackhere.
How it started
In 2022, Applewon an Oscar. The company behind the Mac and iPhone made a splash by winning Best Picture with the indie darlingCODA, a remake of a French-Belgian film about the only hearing member of a family with a struggling fishing business. It was created with a modest budget reported around $10 million, and yet despite its relatively humble beginnings, for a time the movie was a showpiece for one of the world’s most valuable companies and its fledgling push into the realms of film and television.
The success ofCODA is indicative of Apple’s streaming service as a whole. While it earned accolades and respect, it wasn’t exactly a mainstream hit. Awards don’t necessarily equal viewership. And while Apple TV has had several acclaimed shows and films, it hasn’t yet translated to a major piece of the streaming market.
Since it debuted in 2019, Apple TV has largely been a curiosity, an effort focused more on prestige than scale and profits. While other streamers duke it out for market share, Apple has seemed content on using its streaming service to bolster its image. The result is that for years the service had few major hits, and has also been plagued by a dearth of content compared to its competitors. Unlike Netflix or Disney, Apple hasn’t tried to boost its library by bidding on the streaming rights to sure-thing hits likeFriends orThe Office. Instead it has focused primarily on original programming you can’t get anywhere else.
It took several years of more misses than hits to get where Apple is now: a comparatively small streaming service that nonetheless boasts a solid lineup. For TV that has primarily meant prestige dramas,particularly in the realm of science fiction, with splashy adaptations like the space epicFoundation, beloved hits like the surreal mystery boxSeverance,and more recent successes likethe end-of-the-world drama PluribusfromBreaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan. Its film slate, meanwhile, has included the likes ofCODAalongside new films from iconic and influential directors including Spike Lee, Sofia Coppola, and Martin Scorsese (who also made a memorable appearance in Apple’s Hollywood satireThe Studio,which dominated the Emmys this year). There have been some duds, sure (see:The Gorge andArgylle), but the focus on quality above metrics has helped Apple at least carve out a distinct place in a very crowded space.
How it’s going
But that could be changing. Perhaps buoyed by the mainstream success ofTed Lasso, or a push from the top brass for a higher return on investment, Apple has been making some moves of late that seem pretty clearly aimed at bringing its streaming service to a much larger audience.
First up, it has a new name,going from Apple TV Plus to simply Apple TV. It may just be removing a single word — thus giving the service a more streamlined title — but Apple is touting it as something much bigger, calling it “a vibrant new identity.” Apple then went all out to make the point:the company hired composer (and Billie Eilish’s brother) Finneas to craft a new intro sound that plays before every show and movie, and even madea new intro sequence built using real glass.
Perhaps more illustrative of this newfound push is a pair of deals Apple recently announced.Starting in October you can get the service bundled with Peacock, which on the surface is a strange combination. On the Apple side you have prestige dramas like the spy thrillerSlow Horses, and with Peacock you have reality TV likeLove Island. But in reality it’s a smart play. Instead of filling in the supposed gaps in its library by licensing network TV shows, Apple is teaming up with another streamer that offers many things it doesn’t. It’s like subscribing to cable for both HBO and NBC.
There’s a similar thinking behindApple snagging the exclusive US streaming rights for Formula 1 racing. Live programming, and sports in particular, are the next frontier in streaming, which is why everyone seems to be getting in on it. Netflix hasboxing andthe NFL, while Amazon streams hockey, basketball, and also the NFL. Apple made its first major move into the space witha deal with Major League Soccer thatgot a big boost when Lionel Messi decided to ply his trade in Miami. Andstarting next year MLS matches will become part of the base Apple TV subscription, available at no extra cost.
But the five-year deal with F1 is a much bigger play, because it means exclusive rights to the highest level of a particular sport (sorry, MLS fans). And just like MLS in 2026, F1 will be available as part of the standard service, sitting alongsideHijack andShrinking. (The partnership also follows Apple’s biggest film success so far, the Brad Pitt vehicleF1 The Movie. Synergy!)
Andas with most streamers, this expanded library of content has also included price hikes; in Augustan Apple TV subscription went up by $3 per month, a big ask for a service with a scant lineup compared to its contemporaries. At the same time, there are some questions about the kinds of programming Apple is willing to offer, which typically shies away from controversy. Jon Stewart had disagreements over what topics he could cover on his show,which is reportedly the reason it ended in 2023, and the delayed seriesThe Savant —a thriller about domestic terrorism — still doesn’t have a premiere date, despite originally being set to stream in September. Apple still lists it as “coming soon.”
On their own, none of these moves is especially significant. But taken together they point to a shift in the way Apple TV is being positioned, a clear attempt at expanding on the service’s existing base and reaching new, larger audiences.
What happens next
But don’t expect Apple to stop chasing awards and fancy names. Tim Cook sure seems to love posing while holding an Emmy, and who could blame him; not many tech CEOs get that opportunity. Apple tends to portray itself as a purveyor of quality goods and experiences, and it’s famous names and awards that drive that message home in the entertainment world.
So instead, the changes for Apple TV will almost certainly continue to be gradual ones. Another sports deal here, a new series with mainstream appeal there. Heck,despite having a very clear ending in its third season,Ted Lasso is coming back for more, as Apple doesn’t want to let go of its most broadly appealing series. The streamer isn’t getting away from what has worked so far, but itis looking to bolster that.
The real question is what Apple TV looks like in a year or two. Right now, it’s far from the biggest streamer, but it is one with a distinct and curated output. Netflix is the most entrenched player in the space in terms of pure subscriber numbers and has managed to do reasonably well appealing to all possible audiences, expanding from things likeStranger Things toboxing matches andlive talent shows. But for most everyone else that strategy has proved a struggle.Just look at what happened when HBO tried to become Max.
Apple will need to balance this push for a bigger audience with its core strength of premium programming. That’s why the company is taking these smaller steps toward new audiences, rather than completely shaking things up. Apple TV may have lost the plus, but its future hinges on not also losing what makes it special.
By the way
- While the likes of Netflix and Disney have gone all in on advertising, Apple is staying away — for now at least. Apple’s head of services Eddy Cuerecently said of ads that “I don’t want to say no forever, but there are no plans.”
- Sci-fi has been a big part of Apple TV’s relative success so far, and it also looks to be a big part of its future as well. In addition toPluribus anda new season ofMonarch: Legacy of Monsters, there’s alsoan upcoming adaptation of William Gibson’sNeuromancer.
- A big question mark around Apple TV’s rebrand is if the identically named streaming device will be getting a new name as well.Rumors have hinted that a redesigned version of the device could launch by the end of the year.
Read this
- Apple doesn’t actually talk much about the strategy behind its streaming platform (or any of its services, like Apple Music or Apple Arcade, for that matter) butVariety did do a cover story with Tim Cook that shares a little insight into what’s going on in Cupertino.
- MLS becoming a part of the base Apple TV subscription is good news for viewers, but it does mean that Apple and the soccer league changed the original 10-year deal.Verge alum Julia Alexander explores why this happened over atPuck.
- If you’ve been confused about Apple’s streaming strategy, don’t worry, you’re not alone.In an interview withVariety in March, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said of Apple TV: “I don’t understand it beyond a marketing play, but they’re really smart people. Maybe they see something we don’t.”
- Andrew Webster
More inColumn
