Apple Struggling to Keep Up With Increasing Piracy of Apple TV+ Content

[Rychiar]

well there's only a couple shows worth watching and not a lot of episodes so why would anyone want to subscribe who wasn't getting it free. I feel the same way about Disney plus until they recently started adding more. HBO max got pretty solid quickly for a newbie

 

[Pilot Jones]

Welcome to the internet

Seriously.

The real question is, how did they not expect to have their content pirated once it's on the internet? 😆

 

[thadoggfather]

yes and no. While I do agree that some expenses are of doubtful nature (see your Tom Cruise comment), productions themselves are more expensive due to the increased demands in terms of quality and technology (including but not limited to CGI). Long gone are the days of Murder, She Wrote. Successful series now are basically 10-hour long movies of good quality.


I certainly don’t disagree with this.

Apocalypse Now went severely over budget. It was to cost $12 million, that became $30 million.

Fantastic movie - but that's my problem why, again, exactly?

That's $114 million with inflation.

The average Marvel film is 190 million. Again, why is that my problem cinema has become a continuous movie trailer more than a film?

Will voting with my measly purchasing power make a lick of difference to tell Disney and marvel to shove it?
I'm doubtful.

--

Netflix and the like are warchest funds for getting projects off the ground.

Deep pockets can start mini series without much if any financial risk to the creative stakeholders. Most of these mini series are not 12 episodes of CGI laden scenes. Not looking at you, Disney+ with Loki and such, but speaking about 90% of mini series.

Jason Sudakeis makes $1 million per episode from Apple. Good for him honestly - nice gig. And one of the premiere exclusive draws of the service.

But am I supposed to be financially concerned on Apple's behalf? Not for a second.

Im not encouraging piracy FWIW. I'm encouraging 'hit it and quit it' sign up , splurge, then cancel. Even if its sporadically throughout the year vs. a lazy perpetual membership. These services are financial leeches in aggregate that will suck one dry if left unobserved.

Also to be hypocritical Disney+ is worth its weight in gold for a perpetual membership if one has kids (I don’t)

the value from keeping little ones happy is invaluable. The average Disney Blu ray stays locked at $30 too

 

[dampfnudel]

Sorry, but this is BS. You don't need all those services at the same time. The beauty of streaming services is that you can cycle them, binge watch them, and then cancel. If you want to see everything at once, as soon as it comes out, well, that means you're willing to pay the price for it, so don't blame the provider.

Right now I have Netflix, Peacock, and Apple TV (*). Peacock will soon be canceled and replaced by HBO, which will be replaced in a couple of months by CBS.

(*) I got Apple One.

I keep hearing from people who do that and think to myself WHY should someone have to do something like that? People who do that, yourself included, is a great example of why it’s bad that there’s so many companies trying to get their slice of the streaming pie now. It shows how detrimental to the consumer experience it is when some people resort to such a pain in the a.. and inconvenient behavior. It’s not what people would normally be doing or should be “forced” to do to keep their skyrocketing costs down. Don’t forget how other things like groceries and gas have shot up recently. It all comes together and consumer frustration just keeps growing. It’s like being attacked by bees and if enough of them sting you, you could die especially if you’re allergic and boy are we getting allergic to the cost of streaming.

 

[dguisinger]

I know people pirating their shows, and when you ask why, they believe they need Apple devices to get the service.

Apple has failed miserably at marketing and explaining AppleTV+

 

[anthogag]

Have you read the books?

No I did not read the books. It doesn't matter if I read the books. I am a sci-fi fan and Foundation, so far, is boring.

I had a feeling it wouldn't be great because usually the opening song&dance for great shows is also good. The opening for Foundation is a lame Game of Thrones wannabe.

 

[q64ceo]

I don't have Apple TV. And I don't illegally download any of their shows. Nothing on it really interests me. The only streaming service I have is Amazon Prime. If it isnt for free, I'll probably rent or buy it if I really want to watch it.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Apocalypse Now went severely over budget. It was to cost $12 million, that became $30 million.

Fantastic movie - but that's my problem why, again, exactly?

Good question. Hollywood accounting is... weird, to be kind. The truth is that producers want to spend the minimum amount, directors want unlimited budget, then reality kicks in for both. And studios tend to do whatever they want, including canceling movies without notice. The Netflix series "The movies that made us" is pretty good in explaining some of the problems. By reading a few bios, and after exchanging a few messages with a couple of Hollywood producers (including one for David Lynch), it seems to me that finding money is the biggest problem. It is also very difficult to predict with accuracy how much a movie is going to cost, especially complex ones.

The average Marvel film is 190 million. Again, why is that my problem cinema has become a continuous movie trailer more than a film?

If I understand your question correctly, I think that people are not willing to spend $15 (plus very expensive food) to watch a movie that they could easily watch at home on their 4K TV with soundbar (or even surround system). I wouldn't pay $15 to watch an Allenesque comedy now. I used to pay with a smile, but now, I wouldn't do it. So, the main attraction is now huge explosions, special effects, and very loud system that can't be easily replicated at home. Also, as I mentioned earlier, nowadays TV series are better than most movies as they can tell a good story in 10 hours instead of 90 minutes, so story-driven products are going to be on TV rather than the silver screen.

Will voting with my measly purchasing power make a lick of difference to tell Disney and marvel to shove it?
I'm doubtful.

In the aggregate, probably yes (to a point).

 

[yaxomoxay]

IPeople who do that, yourself included, is a great example of why it’s bad that there’s so many companies trying to get their slice of the streaming pie now. It shows how detrimental to the consumer experience it is when some people resort to such a pain in the a.. and inconvenient behavior.

I don't disagree with that. I actually agree wholeheartedly. It shouldn't be like that (although I don't see any escape from it at the moment). I simply don't buy the moral argument for piracy based on fragmentation.

 

[jimimac71]

I'm like 99% sure apple music is on android now and you can access it through itunes on windows.

Yes, it is on Android.
If I dump Windows 10, as I can't upgrade to W11, then no more iTunes.
With Google and Microsoft, even Amazon, I don't have to use their devices to use their services.
None of this is on-topic, something I'm good at.
I would and have watched videos that aren't available anywhere else, such as really old movies. Same goes for really old music.
I'm not interested enough to pay for ATV+, nor would I go out of my way to watch something illegally.
I guess some people cheat, because they can.
I doubt Apple is being singled out.
Good luck Apple, with the "catch me if you can" folks.
Decades ago, Showtime put their logo on programs, in an effort to slow down those who recorded to video tape.
Now it is common place.

 

[masterhiggins]

Thoughts and prayers.

 

[CarlJ]

Piracy of music is WAY down. Why? The most popular music in the world is on every streaming service. I give Spotify $10 and I get it all.

There is no one stop shop for video and there needs to be for people to not pirate content. If the big three record labels each operated their own $10 a month music service, people would be pirating music still.

The difference is, that album you're streaming could have cost a few tens of thousands of dollars to produce (some are more, some could be less). That movie you want to stream cost several hundred million dollars to make.

A $10/month movie service (for current movies vs. things already on Netflix) would end up costing several hundred dollars a month, not ten dollars a month. And everyone would act shocked at the sticker price, and no one would subscribe.

Similarly, by combining a bunch of the movie/TV streaming services together, you could get the price down a little, but it's not going to be $10/mo.

 

[bn-7bc]

Sad that people wont pay $5 a month for content they enjoy.

It's not the $5/ month its rhe agregate, example prices ( usd/month) netflix 5, Disney + 5, apple tv+ 5, etc etc, ok this is only 15( did not check so probably lowballing) and the someone in the household absolutly needs live sport and ouch, and going forward if you want any worner bros content you'll need hbo max. At some point it all vecomes to exsoensive and dealing with all the accounts makes you feel like your doing to much admin.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The difference is, that album you're streaming could have cost a few tens of thousands of dollars to produce (some are more, some could be less). That movie you want to stream cost several hundred million dollars to make.

A $10/month movie service (for current movies vs. things already on Netflix) would end up costing several hundred dollars a month, not ten dollars a month. And everyone would act shocked at the sticker price, and no one would subscribe.

Similarly, by combining a bunch of the movie/TV streaming services together, you could get the price down a little, but it's not going to be $10/mo.

Sound to me like the movie business should get their costs down and try making something other than endless superhero CGI fantasy movies, stuffed full of overpriced name stars.

 

[CarlJ]

Sound to me like the movie business should get their costs down and try making something other than endless superhero CGI fantasy movies, stuffed full of overpriced name stars.

You know why those movies are getting pirated? Because people want to see them. They’re not going out of their way to download movies they don’t want to watch. Hollywood makes the movies that they think people will pay money to see.

 

[Kar98]

I know people pirating their shows, and when you ask why, they believe they need Apple devices to get the service.

Apple has failed miserably at marketing and explaining AppleTV+

Well there’s an AppleTV app on my XBox and one on my Android “smart” TV and they kinda both suck.

 

[turbineseaplane]

You know why those movies are getting pirated? Because people want to see them. They’re not going out of their way to download movies they don’t want to watch. Hollywood makes the movies that they think people will pay money to see.

It's depressing

I still think they should work on costs and variety.
Some amazing -- all timer - movies were not at all expensive to make.

So sad to me that what is supposed to be a creative industry has just devolved into making only things that gross a gazillion dollars. It leaves a lot "not made" that can be really special content. Content that can have social and societal meaning and impact..

Sadly -- Transformers 19 and Fast & Furious 46 are what will get instead.

 

[Kar98]

If I dump Windows 10, as I can't upgrade to W11, then no more iTunes.

I’ve got Windows 11 and iTunes running on the same machine.

 

[BuddyTronic]

Sound to me like the movie business should get their costs down and try making something other than endless superhero CGI fantasy movies, stuffed full of overpriced name stars.

I think Apple allocated $2B to content creation recently and so did Netflix.

The world should be coming to a movie streaming renaissance in the next couple of years because of the raining money. All video production jobs are running full tilt.

 

[BuddyTronic]

No I did not read the books. It doesn't matter if I read the books. I am a sci-fi fan and Foundation, so far, is boring.

I had a feeling it wouldn't be great because usually the opening song&dance for great shows is also good. The opening for Foundation is a lame Game of Thrones wannabe.

I'm giving Foundation a good try and I think I'm all caught up on episodes and hooked!

But yah, I agree that it's a bit slow going, drab and grey, reminds me of the original "Dune" movie.

 

[BuddyTronic]

It's depressing

I still think they should work on costs and variety.
Some amazing -- all timer - movies were not at all expensive to make.

So sad to me that what is supposed to be a creative industry has just devolved into making only things that gross a gazillion dollars. It leaves a lot "not made" that can be really special content. Content that can have social and societal meaning and impact..

Sadly -- Transformers 19 and Fast & Furious 46 are what will get instead.

Go watch "Prospect" - low budget awesome sci-fi.

 

[mxrider88]

When CSAM is ready then they can scan iPhone and macs for pirate content 🙄

Seriously, did they expect to enter the movie industry and not having to deal with piracy?

 

[posguy99]

Apple has content worth pirating? They certainly don't have content worth subscribing for.

 

[neuropsychguy]

No I did not read the books. It doesn't matter if I read the books. I am a sci-fi fan and Foundation, so far, is boring.

I had a feeling it wouldn't be great because usually the opening song&dance for great shows is also good. The opening for Foundation is a lame Game of Thrones wannabe.

I asked because the books are just talking and are boring (but worth reading). I haven't watched all the released episodes (watched the first two) and they have much more action than the books even if they have a lot of talking. Unfortunately, the show so far is not great.

 

[chriscl]

I am in Germany. This is my current monthly bill for streaming services:

Music:
Spotify = €9,99/month - pretty much every genre and style of music from the last 60-plus years. I use this every single day, pretty much.

Video:
Amazon Prime = €7,99/month (original series and movies)
Netflix = €7,99/month (movies and original series)
Disney+ = €7,99/month (Marvel/Disney/plus others)
Sky Sport = €29,99/month (Bundesliga/Formula 1/English Premier League plus other Sports)
DAZN = €14,99/month (rest of the Bundesliga/MotoGP/Boxing/Italian Serie A/plus other sports)

note that with Spotify, I get pretty much everything. And my taste in music is eclectic.

Video, I am paying nearly €69/month for a mixed-bag of services and I still can’t watch classics like Clint Eastwood‘s Dollar trilogy without having to pay an extra €3-€4 per film; the same is true of old classics like Dirty Harry, 2001, or Bullitt. I like old movies.

Either Spotify is (wonderfully) underpriced, or the fragmented variety of video streaming services provides very poor value for consumers, because even if you subscribed to all the major ones, there are still odd/weird services who seem to have scooped-up portfolios of (especially) older films that are only available on a pay-per-view rental basis. If you wanted to watch 3-4 films a week from these extra cost services, a not unreasonable number, that would be another €40-€50 a month. It really is not good value at all.