Apple Looking to Establish a Large Production Campus in Los Angeles for Apple TV+

[MacRumors]

Apple is looking to lease a large production campus in Los Angeles for Apple TV+, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Apple apparently told real-estate development executives about its intention to lease a Los Angeles production campus, presumably for Apple TV+. The production hub could exceed half a million square feet in size since it needs to provide enough space to produce multiple TV shows and movies.

Many of the city's available spaces for production are said to be heavily booked for months in advance by studios that need a constant output of content, prompting companies to acquire space for themselves directly or lock-in locations with leases that reserve the space for several years at a time.

Mike Mosallam joined Apple in January this year as a lead production real-estate executive for Los Angeles, apparently looking to oversee the company's soundstage strategy. He previously worked as Netflix's director of production planning and studio leasing.

Apple is reportedly hoping to deepen its presence in Hollywood by opening the campus. The company currently leases individual soundstages to film for Apple TV+ in Los Angeles and other areas around the world, but a dedicated campus could streamline the production process and reinforce Apple's commitment to compete with other video streaming services.

Article Link: Apple Looking to Establish a Large Production Campus in Los Angeles for Apple TV+

 

[m4mario]

Damn, Apple IS going all in with Apple TV+. I thought it was just throwing at the wall to see what sticks.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Oh dear God…
They can call it a ‘campus’, but the last thing we need is another studio in the mix.

 

[Kleber20]

Meanwhile Apple Arcade…

 

[jlc1978]

I'm surprised they haven't tried Atlanta. Land is a lot cheaper and there is already an infrastructure in place to support the industry. Overall the costs of production would be lower; and given Apple's relentless pursuit of lower production costs you'd think they would do that for TV production as well.

 

[Ar40]

Apple is doubling and tripling down on TV+!! I love it! I am the exact target audience member of TV+ and nearly every show I've watched on TV+ (and I've watched every single show, and given at least 5 episodes to each to try to see if it works for me) has been amazing, and if this increases that output I'm all for it!

 

[CrapShack]

I have an idea. Since they have a massive $5 billion structure in Cupertino that nobody seems to want to go back to work to, convert the spaceship into the worlds hugest largest greatest production studio.

 

[WWPD]

Can't wait to see Scarface 2 starring Eddie Cue!

 

[citysnaps]

Excellent news. And the LA area is the right place to be located.

 

[MisterK]

Apple should get serious about AppleArcade and make their own games studio. They could develop their own exclusive IP. While it's unlikely that they'll make the next Mario, it's not impossible. Microsoft has had a lot of luck with Halo, and Sony has the Spider-Man franchise (and others). I miss that the consumer Macs came pre-loaded with some fun software so you could start doing stuff right out of the box (though maybe this would be anti-competitive now). Preloading with just Chess feels very antiquated.

 

[citysnaps]

Mike Mosallam joined Apple in January this year as a lead production real-estate executive for Los Angeles, apparently looking to oversee the company's soundstage strategy. He previously worked as Netflix's director of production planning and studio leasing.

This is key.

 

[fwmireault]

I’m surprised of all the investments that Apple is putting on Apple TV+. I suscribe to the service and I love many of their shows, but on a business perspective, I highly doubt that this service will be profitable in the near future because of all the huge investments in production and low paying subscribers. I’d love Apple to keep developing this service but I’m wondering what is the point for them to make TV shows, it’s not keeping furthermore anybody in the Apple ecosystem

 

[m4mario]

I have an idea. Since they have a massive $5 billion structure in Cupertino that nobody seems to want to go back to work to, convert the spaceship into the worlds hugest largest greatest production studio.

Oh don't worry about that. The spaceship is getting filled with engineers. There are plenty of talented engineers who will gladly work for Apple in that campus and be very grateful for it.

 

[breather]

Oh dear God…
They can call it a ‘campus’, but the last thing we need is another studio in the mix.

There isn't that many studios left, they all merge.

 

[breather]

I’m surprised of all the investments that Apple is putting on Apple TV+. I suscribe to the service and I love many of their shows, but on a business perspective, I highly doubt that this service will be profitable in the near future because of all the huge investments in production and low paying subscribers. I’d love Apple to keep developing this service but I’m wondering what is the point for them to make TV shows, it’s not keeping furthermore anybody in the Apple ecosystem

Apple likes to make long plans, not being shortsighted.

 

[A MacBook lover]

Why? So they can get Tom hanks, opera, and more feminine dramas on to its list?

 

[citysnaps]

I have an idea. Since they have a massive $5 billion structure in Cupertino that nobody seems to want to go back to work to, convert the spaceship into the worlds hugest largest greatest production studio.

I don't think that makes much sense, for a variety of reasons, starting with your assessment that nobody wants to go back to work there and it'll be empty, going to waste. Second, it's not likely 4.5 million square feet is required for a studio - in Silicon Valley, no less. Third, not counting the 10 employees who threatened to quit if they didn't get their way working at home, where would the 12,000 employees that normally occupy that space work?

Apple likes to make long plans, not being shortsighted.

Spot on. Seems a lot of people here take the position that Apple doesn't know what it's doing and is just dabbling in this area, with no direction or goal in mind. And somehow, through pure luck over the years, just kind of bumbled into becoming one of the most successful companies in the world.

 

[lkrupp]

Yep, looks like Apple is staying in the business. As of July 1 the free trial of Apple TV+ is down to three months, not a year. According the critics on MacRumors Apple TV+ should be winding down as a failure because all those free trials are expiring and NOBODY is signing up for a subscription... at least that’s what they say is happening. But hey, when have the critics ever been right about Apple since 1976?

 

[jlc1978]

I’m surprised of all the investments that Apple is putting on Apple TV+. I suscribe to the service and I love many of their shows, but on a business perspective, I highly doubt that this service will be profitable in the near future because of all the huge investments in production and low paying subscribers. I’d love Apple to keep developing this service but I’m wondering what is the point for them to make TV shows, it’s not keeping furthermore anybody in the Apple ecosystem

It seems to me to be part of Apple's push to further their all in one entertainment/home automation/computer product ecosystem by pushing furtehr into content and being able to control the content and build a catalogue they can use to get people into their ecosystem. I would not be surprised to see them make some acquistions just to get a large collection of content; much like Ted Turner did in the '70s. If Jobs were still alive it would not have surprised me to see a Disney/Apple merger or at least a major content deal.

 

[ChromeAce]

Build it from scratch up in the Santa Monica Mountains with its own energy ecosystem and fire suppression team. Why lease buildings when you could build as you need? Or is TV+ still a hobby?

 

[bobmans]

I’m surprised of all the investments that Apple is putting on Apple TV+. I suscribe to the service and I love many of their shows, but on a business perspective, I highly doubt that this service will be profitable in the near future because of all the huge investments in production and low paying subscribers. I’d love Apple to keep developing this service but I’m wondering what is the point for them to make TV shows, it’s not keeping furthermore anybody in the Apple ecosystem

I doubt they're looking at this at the short-term. I think ATV+ will also play a huge role in the whole AR/VR ecosystem that they're definitely planning on making mainstream. Apple has so much money in the bank and profit coming in from other markets that they really don't have to worry about one of their services not breaking even or even getting close to breaking even for a couple of years.

 

[Sam Squanch]

Damn, Apple IS going all in with Apple TV+. I thought it was just throwing at the wall to see what sticks.

I don't see that at all. Apple seems to be very selective about what they acquire... not even close to the Netflix model.

 

[lazyrighteye]

I'm surprised they haven't tried Atlanta. Land is a lot cheaper and there is already an infrastructure in place to support the industry. Overall the costs of production would be lower; and given Apple's relentless pursuit of lower production costs you'd think they would do that for TV production as well.

Nashville is also a production hotbed.
That said, once of the benefits of LA is the established production crews and networks in place. Having worked and shot many times in LA, I can attest: the production crews out there are top notch.

 

[Thunderstrike76]

It seems to me to be part of Apple's push to further their all in one entertainment/home automation/computer product ecosystem by pushing furtehr into content and being able to control the content and build a catalogue they can use to get people into their ecosystem. I would not be surprised to see them make some acquistions just to get a large collection of content; much like Ted Turner did in the '70s. If Jobs were still alive it would not have surprised me to see a Disney/Apple merger or at least a major content deal.

Can you go into more detail of why you think he would have bought Disney and what year would he have bought them if he where still alive? This doesn’t sound at all like Steve Jobs.

 

[sw1tcher]

Why? So they can get Tom hanks, opera, and more feminine dramas on to its list?

I didn't know Apple TV+ had operas? Anything good like The Phantom of the Opera?