Apple hasn’t been shy about loading up on original programming. The company is spending around $1 billion to pick up projects from a number of popular and award-winning names throughout the entertainment industry. So now it’s a matter of when you’ll be able to watch films, shows, and documentaries distributed by Apple. Aside from that, it’s also unknown where the content will actually be available.
We may have some answers from a report on the company’s plans published by the New York Times. While it’s still pretty far off, Apple could start rolling out its content early next year.
The division committed to video streaming is called Apple Worldwide Video. It’s collected industry veterans to oversee the launch, which could happen by March 2019. But it’s unlikely for everything to be made available at once. Apple could opt to schedule content across six months.
According to the report, there’s a sizable team within the company working exclusively on original programming. The group made up of about 40 people is focused on adults, children, Latin America, and Europe. They’re assembling a dozen projects with more on the way, but right now the slate is full enough where a steady schedule can be put in motion for customers to stream without running out of content too quickly.
Before having as much original programming at the ready as its competitors, Apple would like to slowly put a limited amount of content out. That should help the company understand how its customers are reacting and adapt as necessary. Eddy Cue, however, did confirm Apple is “completely all in” on video streaming.
Distribution seems to be the trickiest part, but Apple probably has something up its sleeve we don’t know about yet.
Going through the TV app on its devices could be the best avenue to take. It’s also the most obvious one. Apple has hundreds of millions of devices around the world, and all of them come with the TV app pre-installed.
If Apple does leverage its own app, the in-house content will live alongside everything from other media companies. The TV app is a central hub for video streaming services. It recommends what a user should watch at any given time. Apple would, of course, make its own content more visible in the app.
There just might be risk involved with limiting distribution to iOS devices, though. Competitors like Netflix and Hulu work across all platforms, namely Android and Fire TV. Apple’s customers are among the most loyal in the world, but there’s no denying video streaming services need to be widely available to achieve mass market success.
