Maybe Apple thinks if they make TV shows and Movies that is only playable on Apple hardware, they will sell more devices, similar to how Apple once treated their software, post-Apple Clones.
Apple would charge premium prices for their hardware, which was good quality, but it was the excellent software Apple provide to entice people to buy their expensive hardware. Even when Apple charged for the Mac OS, I don't think it was a huge money maker for them. But, if you wanted to use the Mac OS or iOS (legally), you had to buy their hardware. Apple's software has gone downhill lately, so this is probably not the case anymore though.
I've thought from the get-go that this *might* be Apple's strategy. It looks to me like there are two very different routes that Apple could take with their emerging video platform.
1. Brand-boosting boutique strategy: Invest about $1 bn per year in a decent-sized (but not huge) catalog of high-quality originals that fit with the Apple brand and create some buzz/critical acclaim/awards nominations. Offer that content exclusively through their TV app on Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad at no cost to the user. Those Apple exclusive shows will help differentiate Apple products from other hardware platforms (Android, Roku, Amazon), bolster the market perception of Apple as a premium brand, and provide another reason for folks to buy and stick with Apple hardware. Apple original video content and the TV app would be to iOS/tvOS what iLife and iTools/.Mac were to the Mac last decade. In this scenario, the money Apple spent on original video would largely be viewed as a marketing/operations expense (although the content could be monetized later through other channels such as iTunes, DVD and Blu-ray sales).
2. Competitive OTT subscription service strategy: The ultimate goal is to have a service that can compete against Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and the forthcoming "Disneyflix" as a major new profitable product line for Apple, like Apple Music already is. To begin with, as Apple builds its catalog and doesn't have very much content to offer, they'll either need to start out the new standalone service at a lower price relative to competitors or perhaps offer it exclusively as a low-cost add-on to Apple Music (for, say, an extra $4/mo). In either case, if they're serious about drawing in subscribers and competing with the big boys, they'll need to support multiple hardware platforms, not just Apple's own. Which would mean, at the least, apps for Android mobile, Roku and Chromecast, plus perhaps Android TV, Samsung and LG's smart TV platforms, Xbox One and PS4. (Whether they could work out a deal to get the app on Amazon Fire TV and Fire tablets is questionable.) As their catalog and subscriber base grew, they could raise the price of the service and/or spin it out as a standalone service if it was originally offered only as an add-on to Apple Music.
Will be interesting to see which way they go.
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I actually think some of the upcoming Apple TV shows sounded interesting, and they certainly have major talent involved.
But the problem was when I heard they’d all be “family-friendly.” Now if 25% or even half of them were, then...fine. But ALL??
Nope, sorry... this “network” is dead already.
I disagree. There's definitely a market for high-quality ad-free shows that would garner TV14 and TVPG ratings. There's no reason storytellers can't tell compelling stories with high production values without constantly dropping F-bombs or showing nudity and explicit sex scenes. (I'm not saying that a "no TVMA" strategy wouldn't preclude Apple from being able to tackle certain stories in a credible way. It would take some scripts off the table for them. But there are plenty of other outlets where those can and do already go between Netflix, HBO, Showtime, etc.) Keep in mind that Netflix's Stranger Things is rated TV14 and Lost in Space is TVPG.
Now, if by "family-friendly" you think that Apple is trying to create a competitor to the Hallmark Channel (i.e. content with zero cursing, zero violence, nothing edgy or dark), well, yeah, I wouldn't see that strategy working out too well. But I think it's pretty apparent from the show descriptions and talent involved so far that that isn't the case.
