Apple Targets April Launch of Video Streaming Service to Take on Netflix, Prime Video: Report

Apple Targets April Launch of Video Streaming Service to Take on Netflix, Prime Video: Report
Advertisement

Apple is targeting an April event to introduce a streaming television service that will likely include subscription TV services from CBS, Viacom, and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp's Starz among others as well as its own original content, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Apple has long hinted at a planned video service, spending $2 billion (roughly Rs. 14,000 crores) in Hollywood to produce its own content and signing major stars such as Oprah Winfrey. The TV service is expected to launch globally, a person familiar with the matter said, an ambitious move to rival services from Netflix, and Amazon.com's Prime Video. Apple's App Store, where the service is likely to be distributed, is currently available in more than 100 countries.

But it has kept its precise plans for how it will distribute those shows a secret, even as investors have started to fixate on revenue from paid subscriptions as a replacement for growth from iPhone sales, which declined over the holiday shopping quarter for the first time ever last year.

Apple aims to bring together its own shows into one central location with content from media companies, saving iPhone and other Apple device users from having to juggle multiple apps for those channels, the sources said. Apple is aiming to resell TV channels subscriptions similar to Amazon, whose Prime Video Service resells Starz and other channels and keeps a cut of the sales.

Apple is also in discussions with HBO, part of AT&T-owned WarnerMedia, to become part of the service and it could yet make it in time for the launch, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The terms of Apple's deals could not be learned. Apple has typically sought a cut of between 30 percent for apps in the App Store to 15 percent for premium channel apps such as HBO.

Apple, CBS, HBO, Starz and Viacom declined to comment. CNBC earlier reported Apple was targeting an April or May launch for its service.

The television services launch comes as Apple builds out its services segment, which brought in $37.1 billion in its fiscal 2018.

The Wall Street Journal this week reported that major publishers such as the New York Times and Washington Post baulked at the proposed terms of a possible paid news service from Apple in which the iPhone maker would keep as much as half of subscription revenues. An announcement for the news service is expected in March, Buzzfeed reported.

© Thomson Reuters 2019

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Apple
Former Apple Lawyer Charged With Insider Trading
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »