Apple Announces Original TV Streaming Service 'Apple TV+'

[Virinprew]

If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.

How heavy is this dumbbell? -> If you have to ask, you are not strong enough to lift it.
How long is this flight? -> If you have to ask, you are not patient enough to fly it.
How cold will that place be? -> If you have to ask, you are not well-equipped to travel there.

Stupid logic.

 

[jeremiah256]

Many people, myself included warned others that a la carte tv would be very expensive.

Now everyone is seeing that bundled pay tv was actually a great deal. And a la carte is not the dream they envisioned.

TV content is EXPENSIVE to produce, and no studio is going to give it away for cheap.

It's only expensive if you try and subscribe to everything. Not something most people want, try, or need to do. I'd bet more people watch and have access to more quality TV via subscriptions than they ever did via bundles. The cable companies never had student deals where you could have access to music via Spotify, TV via Hulu, and movies via Showtime for $5/mo. The cost savings deals with going the streaming route vice cable are outstanding.

 

[Wayfarer]

It's a really old quote.

https://writingexplained.org/idiom-dictionary/if-you-have-to-ask-you-cant-afford-it

I’m sorry didn’t understand the reference at first, but it’s still rude. That reminds me of a dating profile I saw recently...

“Seeking a real man.” I asked her to define what a “real man” was. She replied, “If you have to ask, then you probably aren’t one.”

 

[gco212]

Whomever pays the bill, has the last say. Don’t like it ignor it or don’t subscribe, you are permitted to decide. I am not defending anyone or supporting any action. If you were paying the bill, you can voice your concerns to the director.

So we're back at Apple talking out both sides of its mouth. They pay the bill, so they can dictate things like this to eliminate possible backlash, while letting creators truly do their thing.

 

[ErikGrim]

Underwhelming, especially since it’s U.S. only on launch.

100+ Countries. On launch.

 

[cardfan]

Apple really made a mess of things. It felt rushed. Apple appears to be undecided or still working out deals. No pricing.

It does reaffirm how dumb this video streaming idea was and will be for Apple. It’s a total loser. The tv app still looks bad. The addition of channels or bundles only makes it worse.

In contrast I could get behind the arcade stuff. That’s the Apple we know and is in their element. Again no pricing.

News app? Lacking some newspapers to say the least. WSJ can drop out anytime. And more than half the mags are just PDFs. Finally the app is pretty bad. That said it’s worth 10 to me.

 

[dampfnudel]

Anyone else have subscription fatigue? I sure do.

 

[Defthand]

Is anyone else sick and tired of subscriptions btw? When the cable bundle looks like a good deal, something went very wrong.

Cable TV bundles, like buffets, are only a bargain if you can consume enough content to justify the fee. Streaming is a better value if don't subscribe to multiple streams concurrently. The trick is to rotate subscriptions. Binge on Netflix for a month or two. Cancel. Switch to Hulu for a month or two. Cancel. Switch to Acorn for a while. Cancel and repeat. This allows time for those services to refresh their offerings.

 

[code-m]

I’m making a normative argument, you are making a positive argument.

I put the “plus” in TV+
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So we're back at Apple talking out both sides of its mouth. They pay the bill, so they can dictate things like this to eliminate possible backlash, while letting creators truly do their thing.

Being creative does not mean handing over a blank cheque and do whatever you want. At the end of the day a company or individual is paying the bill and wants a creative type to create content that can be enjoyed by a wider audience. You may not be in that demography, so rather than being sour or bitter about something that has yet to be released I would refrain from judgement. Car Karaoke or whatever it was called, was not my thing. I did not lambast Apple’s choice, if you enjoyed it great if not spend your valuable time on something else rather than complain on a forum, which tells me your time is not valuable and are here to complain for the sake of complaining. Don’t subscribe you have a choice, why are you loosing sleep over nonsense that does not appeal to you.

Crying wolf as if there are no other options presently.

 

[Alan Wynn]

I hope Speiberg's series is nominated for an Emmy just so someone can tell him that streaming productions shouldn't qualify.

What Mr. Spielberg said was that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences should require that films that wish to be eligible for awards meet more than the minimum 1 week screening in NY or LA. He did not attack Netflix, or its content. He, like many who feel that it is important to support theatres if we want to have theatres around in the future, said that streaming services should be treated like TV content and should be eligible for Emmys (as they have already been recognized). If Netflix wants to release its films theatrically for a normal run around the world, he would have no problem with them competing for awards from AMPAS.

 

[Dave245]

I’m sure we would be.

I’m upset about the magazine subscription not being ready today. I was really looking forward to that!

Yea it is annoying that a lot of these services that were announced won't be ready or even in other countries until the end of the year. The Apple credit card is US only, not even a mention of it coming to other countries.

I do understand why the Apple TV+ isn't ready yet, they need to get all the content ready, which i personally prefer they do rather than just stick a couple of TV shows and movies on the app and start charging people £10 a month. They need more content on the service, which is probably why it won't be ready until the "fall"

Personally i'm interested in the Apple TV+ (depending on what other content is coming) and the Apple arcade gaming service, what i think Apple should do is charge a bundle fee at a discount, so for example i'm already subscribed to Apple Music, but if i sign up to Apple Tv+ and the Apple Arcade services i get all of them for a cheaper price than they would cost individually.

 

[Biu_miu]

If the last couple years have taught us anything it's that CELEBRITY voices don't matter (...well maybe one). In fact, the more celebrities that pile on to a message, the more likely it is to fail. Celebrity support for something is the kiss of death. This was the most painfully boring (and somewhat predictable) Apple keynote to-date... toward the end I'm like all that's missing from this sh*tshow is f-in Oprah and GD, thar she blows!

Even the BS diversity and inclusion that was in your face just for the sake of D&I was predictable... oh who could we possibly get to talk about gaming... oh I know! How about an Asian?? And while we're at it, let's make her female. Yeah! 2 for 1!

Apple just googled "popular actor" and invited first 10 picks to event. Like, just do anything, that is acceptable, trendy, popular at this moment and will make money for them, nothing challenging at all. This inclusion also is just a sales pitch- Don't buy products from those other racist companies, buy from us, we are very inclusive! Don't be racist yourself! Be inclusive! Of course, only in situations, that makes you comfortable, not like when you really have to listen to different opinion of do something out for your bubble comfort zone. Also:
Apple 2018: We are very aware of smartphone addiction, we encourage to limit and control kids time with smart devices, so they could learn real life skills, communicate with other kids. Here is the applications to do that.
Apple 2019: HALO KIDS HERE IS GAMES SERVICESS FOR YOU PLS SUBSKRIBE YOIU CAN SEE IT ON IPHONE AND ALSO ON IPAD AND ALSO ON ATV AND ALSO ON MAC AND ALSO ON IPHONE YOU CAN PLAY GAME OUTSIDE ALSO BIG BIRB CARTOON FOR YOU WATCH THE CARTOON OF APPLE ON ON IPAD AND ALSO ON ATV AND ALSO ON MAC AND ALSO ON IPHONE SUCSCRIBE

 

[Smartass]

They cant even make proper iTunes, and now they want to venture in TV business? THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT!

 

[WatchFromAfar]

How heavy is this dumbbell? -> If you have to ask, you are not strong enough to lift it.
How long is this flight? -> If you have to ask, you are not patient enough to fly it.
How cold will that place be? -> If you have to ask, you are not well-equipped to travel there.

Stupid logic.

I think the OP (Fuzzy Dunlop) was making a joke that's quite common here in Britain.

 

[ColdShadow]

Netflix wannabe.

Not gonna happen though.

 

[theluggage]

No price? Yes. Does it really matter to you today? Are you working on your Fall spending budget and you were holding out for $14.99 or $19.99 because that $5 is going to change your life?

That $5 is $60 per year. The real point, though, is that this is Apple so how do we know it’s not going to be $50 per month (they usually charge a premium) or $5 month (OTOH they pretty much invented the 99 cent App). Will it be flat rate or will there be tiers? Will there be special rates for Apple hardware users or Apple Music subscribers? All of those questions are far more interesting than “It will have TV shows with actors and producers that you might have heard of.”

Where is the latest product to process my video or work or whatever I think Apple should be doing? Spec bumps don't make news. They don't sell products to the masses. Good luck with that Windows machine.

Ok, so anybody who thought this was going to be about Macs was pretty naive. However, I think the real concern is that the top brass at Apple will be distracted and star struck and let the hardware go to seed.

Although it is true that Apple have rarely been the first to enter a field of business, they’ve usually come in while it was still “bubbling under” with a far better designed and better-marketed alternative that helps push the idea into the mainstream. This feels like a me-too, where Netflix, Amazon and others have already done the Apple thing and created the market. Apple may well succeed, but I don’t see this being the next iPod.

 

[ProVideo]

Apple seems to be living in their own bubble and are producing pretentious content that a vast majority of people will not pay for. There is no "killer app" among the series they teased yesterday. Everything looked like content that has been shopped around but wasn't greenlit anywhere else because it was too expensive to produce and didn't have enough mass appeal. If a recession is on the horizon, people are not going to be paying $10-20 a month for Premium PBS content. Netflix, HBO, Showtime, and Amazon Prime already have content like that along plenty of series with sex, violence, and dirty comedy.

 

[jeremiah256]

I found the Apple News service compelling enough that if it were available here, I’d at least try it.

The Apple Card is probably the sleeper service of the event and the most interesting announcement for me. Really loved the UI for the app.

Apple Arcade is interesting but we’ll see if they can populate it with enough games to justify whatever price they decide on.

The update to the TV app was ok. Nothing really stood out.

They lost me at the TV Plus section. Maybe it’s just that I’m not the target market, but we’ll see. It seemed they were trying too hard and went over the top with this portion of the presentation. It gave me the feeling that Apple’s content service is going to be above average on price and they were trying to get ahead of any criticism and justify whatever price they feel they’ll have to charge.

 

[ersan191]

News doesn't have the two magazines I read, unfortunately, but it seems pretty appealing otherwise.

I'm all in on Apple Arcade, just hope they don't price everyone out - having actual quality games instead of freemium crapfests is massive for mobile gaming. Even if most of the games they demo'ed didn't seem great it will hopefully open the door for devs to make real actual games - but it won't work unless people subscribe.

Apple Card has a great interface but as far as rewards go it is pretty crap, so I won't be using it. It's good for the masses who don't feel like or can't keep up with how rewards programs work I suppose.

TV+ isn't a Netflix competitor it seems to just have Apple's original content unless they announce something later, making it pretty unappealing - I can't imagine CBS All Access is doing that well and Apple doesn't have enough content to compete with Disney+. Announcing the whole thing without any real clips from any of the shows was a bit odd as well.
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I most definitely saw a $10.99 price on the livestream when they were doing the demo.

I most definitely am not going to bore myself by watching the entire thing again to get a screenshot. Apple probably edited it out anyway.

10.99 was for subscribing to Showtime - not TV+

 

[MacBergin]

This keynote is the worst ever, what has happened to apple political correctness is to much and this is plain boring

I totally enjoyed the show. you clearly weren't paying attention
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I do. And I’m sure many more people do too.

I care about it 100%

 

[cardfan]

News doesn't have the two magazines I read, unfortunately, but it seems pretty appealing otherwise.

I'm all in on Apple Arcade, just hope they don't price everyone out - having actual quality games instead of freemium crapfests is massive for mobile gaming. Even if most of the games they demo'ed didn't seem great it will hopefully open the door for devs to make real actual games - but it won't work unless people subscribe.

Apple Card has a great interface but as far as rewards go it is pretty crap, so I won't be using it. It's good for the masses who don't feel like or can't keep up with how rewards programs work I suppose.

TV+ isn't a Netflix competitor it seems to just have Apple's original content unless they announce something later, making it pretty unappealing - I can't imagine CBS All Access is doing that well and Apple doesn't have enough content to compete with Disney+. Announcing the whole thing without any real clips from any of the shows was a bit odd as well.
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10.99 was for subscribing to Showtime - not TV+

I pretty much agree. Apple only landed one newspaper. The wsj I consider a business journal. Mags I don’t care about.

Games? It’s software so at least Apple is in their wheelhouse.

Card will do well with the masses who don’t understand credit cards. The rewards suck. Apple had a chance to really change things up.

The tv is the main event and the main fail. I don’t understand cluttering up your app with competitors. I have no desire to see the likes of showtime and hbo in it. They’re in app purchases. Hopefully we can disable it. I wish Apple would focus on their own stuff. They’re trying to be a content provider and store at same time. Can’t be both. You don’t see Netflix with premium channels inside their app.

Are these shows good? Perhaps. But Apple will need a ton of them beyond their current spend to sustain any sub. Or a strong anchor like prime shipping or a compelling bundle of their services. They have to answer one of these. And even then it’s slow going, they’ll need to acquire existing content, and profits will be thin if they ever profit on it. Apple isn’t committed beyond pulling this string a bit.

 

[cardfan]

Choosing to release hardware 3 days prior was nuts too. That would’ve been the better show. The tv stuff could have waited as it’s not close to ready. The card and news could’ve been put in. The games could’ve been saved for wwdc.

But my gosh airpods is apples most loved product in years and they don’t talk about them. These along with iPads is far more worth talking about for Apple. They even had an iOS update.

That’s a big fail compounded into a massive one.

 

[shamelin73]

I wish that it was a service like youtubeTV. With live local stations.

 

[bruno7]

Well, I know Oprah is pretty big in States, I get that.

But this... wasn't it just too much? I just expected someone else after that VIP introduction video...

 

[SaxPlayer]

Speaking as someone in the UK, I find the rise of the tech giants in streaming to be something to worry about rather than celebrate. I can see how for US residents all this US originated content is exciting. For the rest of the world it's concerning, at the very least.

I subscribe to Netflix and enjoy plenty of shows on there (all US based as the UK content is virtually all stuff that's previously aired on UK terrestrial TV) but 90+% of what I want to watch is made by UK production companies. It's good to watch content from cultures and countries outside ones own realm, however the bulk of what I want to view is UK based, because that's where I live.

UK content providers are not going to be able to compete with the huge cash reserves of the tech giants in the States and I see a future where localised content outside the USA is very limited - a rounding error on a West Coast balance sheet.

I'm generally a glass-half-full optimistic person but a future where the power of Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Disney etc control what the whole world watches just makes me utterly depressed.