Apple TV+ Curbs Costs After Expensive Projects Fail to Capture Viewers

[zorinlynx]

I've really loved some ATV+ shows (For All Mankind, Severance were mindblowing) but there's just not enough content to keep me subscribed, and that's the key. When that $10 charge hits your card and you realize you haven't watched it at all in the last month, you're going to cancel. Doesn't matter if you can afford it or not.

Then once you cancel you tend to not come back until something makes it really worth it. Like, right now I'm not subscribed and will wait until the next season of Severance to turn it back on, and binge everything I've missed.

They just can't make money that way. If they want to be profitable there needs to be a consistent stream of great content that people want to STAY subscribed for.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Apple could have addressed their glaring AAA gaming problem (not a gamer and I can see it) with all of that money and left content streaming to the many other more comprehensive video apps that exist.

 

[2010mini]

They should look into buying fan favorite shows that other streamers cancelled. One such show is The Expanse

 

[Orange Bat]

Really, focus on producing ~90 minutes of content (~2 episodes) for every show every month.

I like the 6-8 episode model, but it’s often implemented by stretching out a 2 hours movie idea into 8 hours of content. Instead of a nice 8 episode movie we tend to get a decent 3 hours with 5 hours of filler.

I do find myself missing the days of episodic television, though. Not every show has to be one long miniseries. Ted Lasso was a good example of an episodic TV show that was generally easy to watch without having to remember every detail of the previous episode.

 

[nathansz]

When that $10 charge hits your card and you realize you haven't watched it at all in the last month, you're going to cancel. Doesn't matter if you can afford it or not.

This is exactly it.

Everyone’s taste is different but there is so little on there it probably the same for most people. They’ve made 3 shows I like and everything else just has this overall tone of boringness

If severence and silo come out the same time I’ll subscribe for a month again but I can’t imaging more than that

 

[paulovsouza]

Apple TV+ always have always been the best looking shows, and it gave major budget but the writing gave High School writing contest. And there are so many gems, they are actually the best shows of the year, with zero marketing. Apple needs to buy a major studio like Disney and Amazon have done, they need the catalog, content keeps the subscribers, new shows are the cherry on top.

 

[lkrupp]

Apparently the general public prefers schlock over quality. They’d rather watch 1950’s sci-fi movies on Prime or Tubi.

 

[pappl]

Another problem i see: How will anybody book AppleTV+ on e.g. a FireTV stick. The service is too buried into Apples eco system and therefore not visible to most users.

 

[Devyn89]

Not unexpected but it still sucks, Apple TV has had some amazing content.

 

[DMinTX]

Interesting that For All Mankind was not mentioned. That seems to always be in the top 3 when people ask on the Apple TV+ forums which shows are liked / recommended.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Now everyone knows how us iPhone Mini users feel

welcome to Tim’s chopping block

 

[Orange Bat]

Apple TV+ always have always been the best looking shows, and it gave major budget but the writing gave High School writing contest. And there are so many gems, they are actually the best shows of the year, with zero marketing. Apple needs to buy a major studio like Disney and Amazon have done, they need the catalog, content keeps the subscribers, new shows are the cherry on top.

Hollywood in general has a writing problem. I think the biggest issue is that talent is stretched really thin with so many studios and streaming services nowadays. Also, these streaming services tend to hire cheap writers and spend all their money on the actors and making the show have a certain “look”, including effects. Hollywood has forgotten how to tell a good story.

 

[H2SO4]

I don’t know why, but I just find Apple’s content kind of cringey to watch. I wish they would stop all this and just focus on technology.

Paying a ton of money for high profile actors and directors doesn’t guarantee success.

Ok, so this. Haven't been back since. But I do see what they are aiming for.
Least amount of offended audience.

 

[gsmornot]

I need a streaming tv replacement for DirecTV Now so I can watch football this fall and news in between. It would be nice if that was what ATV+ was plus on demand shows. Compete with the YouTube TV and I will be happy to tune in. I know, we all want on demand but some of us prefer live TV at times. I get it now, but from other sources. I would trade the shows for this option.

 

[turbineseaplane]

It's amazing to me how much is charged these days for such little content. A show might only have 8 to 10 episodes, multi-year breaks between seasons, and the streamers simply don't produce that many shows

That’s a big reason why I can’t seem to get into any new shows anymore.

The seasons are too short to actually dig into all the interesting narratives and micro stories that we used to get from series of the past

 

[turbineseaplane]

Masters of the Air? Could have been great. Good visuals, decent cast except for the god awful Elvis lead that could have been replaced with a cardboard cutout, interesting story but horrible script

exactly my take on masters of the air

I just don’t think butler has the chops and he keeps getting rammed into everything due to looks (I guess?) and he just seems like the same guy in everything

scripts were mostly awful. First many episodes barely had a plot at all

 

[gco212]

How long ago did Apple put out the commercial set at Jon Hamm's house where the tagline was basically, "Please watch us, we've got cool celebrities?"

 

[epox999]

I found a lot of the content repetitive and boring and hard to get into. There are exceptions but too many someone wakes up to find their life has changed type of shows.

Apple getting in on the ground floor on English language isekai content

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isekai, n. meanings, etymology, pronunciation and more in the Oxford English Dictionary

www.oed.com

 

[Sogeman]

That's what happens when you're late to the party.

 

[Sogeman]

They should look into buying fan favorite shows that other streamers cancelled. One such show is The Expanse

How was that cancelled? I mean it was but then it was finished by Amazon.

 

[anthony13]

I guess I’m the outlier here. Some of the most interesting shows of the last few years have been on Apple TV+; Lasso, Servant and Foundation are three that jump to mind. In fact I’d say Foundation is probably the best sci-fi show in decades. For me it’s not about ‘did I watch it this month’ to keep a subscription. I have all the major streaming services and it’s still cheaper than cable. So it doesn’t bother me to go a couple months without logging into a Max or Apple TV+ when I know in the end it all used to cost so much more.

Conversely, omg if they cancel foundation without a resolution I'm cancelling out of spite!

 

[turbineseaplane]

On the upside -- I'd love for this to be the big leading thing to create some change.

Apple needs to refocus on their hardware and software platforms
They've already gone way too far into trying to push "subsciption-land"

 

[x86dude]

If you changed the character names, I would have no idea Foundation was the Foundation series I read as a kid. The whole feel of it was different, and changes to the story just snowballed. Subscription cancelled.

 

[steve09090]

The quality of the filming and the quality of their casts are second to none. Slow horses, Presumed Innocent, Ted Lasso, Lessons in Chemistry, Fly Me to the Moon were all excellent. I can’t wait for F1. For quality, and action it will smash Top Gun 2 which made $1.5B at box office. And that was a shyte movie.

 

[BlairMALL]

You really don’t need a huge budget to make something entertaining…

The whole industry needs a major realignment.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. I also think that it is a good first step to stop overspending on big A-List projects and focus on more compelling, independent projects. Finally, it is a bit ludicrous to think that you could compete with Netflix by just producing a few big name shows. I think people are still a little confused about what Apple TV is. It's hardware, software, a streaming service, and how you manage your purchases on Apple.