The rise of streaming and digital content has effectively cut the middle man -- the networks -- out of the equation. No one needs to take their content through NBC or CBS anymore when they can afford to just release it themselves. This has caused companies like Amazon -- which used to just ship packages -- to produce Emmy-winning TV shows and Apple is looking to get in the game. The iPhone-maker has already begun to produce their own content but now the company is setting aside a massive $1 billion to create original content over the next year.
Apple is looking to make a big splash in Hollywood. According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is investing approximately $1 billion in acquiring and producing original TV shows over the next year. This would result in as many as 10 new shows with the intention of matching HBO in terms of quality. Apple has already begun to produce its own content. The technology company has dipped its toes into the water with reality show Planet of the Apps and Carpool Karaoke: The Series, an adaptation of the viral Late Late Show segment. Neither of these has made quite an impact since their release.
This will be new ground for the iPhone-maker. Previously, the company allowed users to rent or buy movies and TV shows through iTunes, but the emergence of subscription services has been slowing drying up the rental well. Apple's share of the movie rental-and-sales market is estimated to have dropped from 50 per cent in 2012 to less than 35 per cent recently.
I know that $1 billion sounds like a ludicrous amount of money, but that seems to be the typical entrance fee for a year of television. All the major streaming and broadcasting companies spend billions of dollars on their television programming per year. HBO spent about $2 billion on content last year, and Game of Thrones Season 6 reportedly cost $10 million per episode. Amazon spent around $1 billion the year after it got into original programming, while Netflix, which spits out content left and right, is expected to have spent more than $6 billion for 2017. Yeah, TV is expensive, but if Apple can find its Transparent or Stranger Things, then that would make all the difference for the company.
Everyone is trying to make a TV show, so stick with CinemaBled and we'll update you every time one of them starts to get some attention. To stay up to date on all the shows the summer season still has left, be sure to look at our summer TV premiere guide. After that, the fall season is upon us, we've got the list of every major release on the fall schedule right here.
