It looks like Apple has plans to get into the original video content game on a significant level.
As part of the company’s ongoing effort to eventually rebrand Apple Music into a video platform, Apple plans to spent $4.2 billion USD by 2022 on original video content, according to Loup Venture analysts Gene Munster.
Apple likely won’t catch-up with incumbent subscription video streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon in terms of spending though.
Earlier this year, reports emerged that Apple had plans to invest as much as $1 billion USD into original programming over the course of 2018, a number that falls significantly under Netflix, which plans to spend $8 billion next year. In comparison, Amazon is expected to spend more than $4.5 billion next year.
According to Munster, Apple’s services business now accounts for 14 percent of the company’s total revenue. This new original video content spending initiative aims to help grow the company’s services division by multiple percent over the course of the next few years. It’s unclear when the company plans to begin rolling out this original content, however, as Apple’s current two offerings, Carpool Karaoke and Planet of the Apps, have been poorly received by critics.
Variety has confirmed that an Apple-backed original series based on Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories is currently in production. The comedy is set in the news industry and is set to feature Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.
Source: Variety
