Over the past few years, it has become abundantly clear that people are prepared to pay for high-quality programming on streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, among others. The number of subscriptions has increased at a breakneck pace over the years, and plenty of people are in fact, taking the radical step of cutting off cable television altogether. Hence, it is quite clear that the time of streaming services is here, and the demand for them has absolutely exploded over the past couple of years.
Companies like Apple do not sit back and watch while a whole new industry is being developed, which is why the tech giant announced plans to launch its own streaming service earlier this year. The company has now stated that its service Apple TV+ is all set to be launched in November this year and the streaming war are going to intensify further. In addition to established players like Netflix and Prime, legacy entertainment companies have also come into the picture. Disney’s Disney+ and HBO, owned by AT & T are going to be fierce competitors as well. It is interesting to note that Disney+ is also going to launch in November, and the service could be heading into a direct competition right after it is launched.
Apple has already announced that it is going to charge $9.99 per month for its service, and it remains to be seen the volume of subscriptions that it can generate early on. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video both charge $8.99 per month, while Disney+ is going to be available for as little as $6.99 per month. However, it is believed that Apple could leverage its large customer base of iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch owners to drive subscriptions. At the end of the day, only top class and varied programming can lead to sustained growth, and that can also come from higher spending on new shows. Apple is going to spend big and has already earmarked a staggering $300 million towards a couple of seasons of ‘Morning Show.’ However, that spending is dwarfed by Netflix’s budget of $14 billion on TV shows in the year 2019 alone. That being said, it needs to be remembered that money is not a problem for Apple, and if the service does garner customers, then it can always ramp up the spending.