Apple said to be exploring original film and TV production for Apple TV, going up against Netflix and Amazon Prime
Netflix, look out – it looks like Apple might finally be making the leap from tech to entertainment, as rumours grow that the Cupertino tech giant is looking to produce original movies and TV shows.
The company is holding meetings with Hollywood execs to discuss producing original programming for Apple TV, reports Variety. The push is supposedly led by Apple’s content lead Eddy Cue, who heads up everything iTunes to the App Store.
If Apple is planning for original content on its Apple TV, the company would be challenging popular streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, which are both currently part of the service on Apple TV.
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As Apple’s much-hyped launch – announced last week with nothing more than the message “Siri, give us a hint” – draws nearer, rumours abound about the company’s upcoming announcements.
Today’s news followed suggestions Apple will unveil new TV hardware at the 9 September launch, with a new TV box to be presented alongside the new iPhone 6s.
Sources say the hardware would be launching alongside a Netflix-style subscription Internet TV service, offering programming from several major networks. Obviously, original content would be a valuable addition to this. But it’s early days yet, according to the Variety report, and based on what the company has said about TV before, there may be quite a few hurdles left to overcome.
Eddy Cue said in May:
TV is a hard problem to solve. One of the problems you have with a TV is you have a disparate system with a bunch of providers. There's no standards. There's a lot of rights issues.
Apple declined to comment on the reports.