This line right here is how you know Awards are bought based on relationship and money, not by true viewership and voting.
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Apple TV+ Curbs Costs After Expensive Projects Fail to Capture Viewers
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I liked many of the shows but I can binge them in a month or two each year. No need to always be subscribed.
A TV show directly from the book couldn’t be done. People expect the actual impossible.
I think the reality of it is, if that is all people think it is, then they are the ones confused. Apple has produced some amazing content that deserves its place in Hollywood.
Great production. Poooooooooooor scripts in most shows. Characters reactions are silly and illogical in many of the shows. A few are good, but most are truly illogical, not due to the show premise, but to bad scritps, poor character development or scripts that consider the viewer kind of “uninteliget”.
They need to just buy something like Paramount so they'll have a library of content besides the original content they create.
I haven't watched a single thing on Apple TV+, while I have most other steaming services. The shows and originals just look boring and they try to hard to be "family friendly".
I wonder why Apple hasn't tried some "3/6/9/12 month" term discount offers for their bundles to see if they can get folks (and money) more locked in?
The shows I did like, pieces like,1972 documentary and Jon Stewart's show are few and far between. I applaud Jon Stewart telling Apple to pound sand if they had insisted on too much control over his narrative.
They have a year sub that is $99, so $20 cheaper than monthly.
Edit: You said bundles, my bad. I'd like to see iCloud yearly. I hate hate hate month-to-month subs.
The reason Apple's share of the market is so much less is because they have less shows. They are a newer service, and overall the shows they create are the ones on their platforms. They've made some great shows "For All Mankind" is my favorite!
Apple is scaling back its Hollywood spending after investing over $20 billion in original programming with limited success, Bloomberg reports.
This shift comes after the streaming service, which launched in 2019, struggled to capture a significant share of the market, accounting for only 0.2% of TV viewership in the U.S., compared to Netflix's 8%. Despite heavy investment, critical acclaim, and numerous award nominations, Apple TV+ purportedly generates less viewing in one month than Netflix does in a single day.
Over the last five years, the Apple TV+ has had only four series make Nielsen's weekly list of the ten most popular original streaming shows. While Ted Lasso was the most-watched streaming show of 2023, Apple TV+ still accounts for a smaller share of top ten hits than any streaming service except Paramount+.
Apple's initial foray into streaming was marked by lavish spending on high-profile projects and talent, including deals with big names like Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, and Jennifer Aniston. The company's Hollywood operation, led by studio chiefs Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, positioned itself as a talent-friendly destination, reminiscent of HBO, offering creators seemingly unlimited financial resources.
Apple spent more than $500 million combined on movies from directors Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, and Matthew Vaughn, and upwards of $250 million on the World War II miniseries Masters of the Air. Despite the strong reviews and awards nominations, these projects have not yielded the viewership that Apple apparently hoped for.
The company's new strategy is said to involve tighter budget controls and a more cautious approach to spending. This includes paying less upfront for shows, being quicker to cancel underperforming series, and delaying productions to manage costs better. For instance, the production of the sci-fi series Foundation was postponed to prevent budget overruns caused by delays related to the 2023 actors and writers strikes.
The cost of the second season of Severance surged to over $20 million per episode due to pandemic-related delays, internal conflicts, and additional expenses such as hiring House of Cards creator Beau Willimon for script contributions. Management has asked the producers of Severance to reduce the budget for future seasons, emphasizing the need for financial sustainability.
Apple has also become more selective in acquiring new projects, declining to buy some shows that sellers believe the company would have accepted just a few years ago. The company allegedly wants to shed the image of being Hollywood's biggest spender and bring more discipline and strategy to its content investments.
While still willing to invest heavily in certain high-profile projects, such as The Morning Show, where cast salaries alone exceed $50 million for the upcoming season, Apple TV+ is becoming more fiscally conservative. The Morning Show stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon will each earn more than $2 million per episode. This recalibration comes at a time when other major studios like Disney, Warner Bros., and Paramount are similarly cutting back on streaming budgets due to mounting losses.
Article Link: Apple TV+ Curbs Costs After Expensive Projects Fail to Capture Viewers
When you look at Netflix, they have much more and diverse content. Apple TV+ doesn't really have wide enough array of comedies, but they have a lot of amazing critically acclaimed stuff. I feel like they have sort of a Criterion Collection vibe or making great quality shows, but they probably need to "fluff" it up with some lighter and more accessible 3rd party titles to add value.
As it currently stands, my family watches probably a couple TV shows a year on Apple TV+, but we unsubscribe when nothing new is on that platform that we want to watch. We do this with all of our streaming services.
But unsubscribing is a matter of running out of good options. I think more Comedy would make a big difference since that's what most people can casually watch and often among other people. I like Horror movies, but I can never watch those or super violent movies when my wife is around because they terrify her. Dramas are great, but often times too heavy for most moments, and we are living in a dark world these days. People enjoy the levity, which is why Ted Lasso was such a huge success.
I hope they somehow see this comment and consider these things. We'd all like Apple TV+ to be better, and they've accomplished a lot. But they don't have enough stuff people can casually watch that's fun, and something people can all sit around and watch as groups.
Also, I think people ironically being distracted by the "two screen experience" on the iPhone pulls away people's attention from watching something super detailed and complex. For Apple, they probably figure, "That shouldn't matter it is people on their iPhones," But I'd be willing to say that the distractions from such devices easily make watching complex plots difficult to digest without giving it your full attention.
Apple, if your'e there, I have really liked For All Mankind, Mythic Quest, Ted Lasso, Loot, The Morning Show, Severance, Lessons in Chemistry, Servant, The Morning Show, Masters of the Air, Shrinking, Acapulco, and the new Peanuts. Keep going, but you have my thoughts!
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Same
It's the only thing of theirs I pay for anymore (haven't bought hardware in years now), and it's honestly just for Photos storage.
I've thought about changing that at some point, but I'd rather just get a discount on an annual prepayment for iCloud storage (it's just easy and I've been lazy on this topic)
If that was the reason (and I don't think it was), they are doing a phenomenally underwhelming job of it.
I mean, the Vision Pro has been out for 6 months. Where's all that amazing exclusive footage you can watch on a Vision Pro? It just doesn't exist yet.
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IMO the whole problem with Apple TV shows is that they're like adults creating content for teenagers, always trying to be mindful of what message they are sending rather than letting good, edgy content speak for itself.
As it stands, Apple's institutional culture keeps it from achieving cultural relevance outside of a few accidental hit shows and no amount of money is going to change that.
As it stands, Apple's institutional culture keeps it from achieving cultural relevance outside of a few accidental hit shows and no amount of money is going to change that.
I don't know anyone in my family or circle of friends that have Apple TV+ accounts, everyone just has Prime Video or Netflix, I looked up their list of shows on Wikipedia, never even heard of half of these
The other problem is that much too little happens in one episode nowadays compared to each of the 20+ episodes of old. In the extreme, the plot that used to happen in a single episode of old is now stretched as an “arc” to an 8-episode season.
Also makes the content far less interesting for an occasional episode re-watch when it's an "arc"
I can pull up a random episode of ST:TNG or Friends or Seinfeld or Cheers ... or just anything from the past and enjoy just that on its own as it's not all tied to some long arc
There are nine books in the series. SyFy adapted the first three, and Amazon adapted the next three. There is a 28 year time gap between books six and seven, so that may be part of the reason for the cancellation.
Apple needs to attract indie filmmakers. Great shows don’t need big budgets. We need more creativity and less Hollywood elitism.
can you provide an example? I would argue netflix and amazon have a much higher hot-garbage ratio.
There have been some quizzical choices in ATV+ but overall there have been some pretty impressive shows. Since nobody is asking, here are some of my thoughs:
Winners:
- Ted Lasso (of course)
- Severance (best show of the year?)
- Silo
- Sugar
- Slow Horses
- Defending Jacob
- Black Bird
Enjoyable:
- Invasion
- Amazing Stories
Things I plan on seeing:
- Dark Matter
- Masters of the Air
- Hijack
- Lady in the Lake
- Time Bandits
- Criminal Record
- The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
- Servant
Meh:
- Truth be told
Things that I hated:
- For All Mankind Well made but too much "every girl is a super-genius who must prove herself". I stopped after first episode of season 2.
- See How did this concept get approved. stopped after 3 episodes
- Foundation As a fan of the books I could not stop judging it as I watched. Stopped after three episodes
Future things (2025+):
- Neuromancer (oh my god if you screw this up apple....)
- Speed Racer (yeah its live action but lets see)
This. I have had multiple free trials of AppleTV+ and I used them to watch 1, maybe 2 shows... Severance is great, Ted Lasso was fun, but nothing worth paying for when I have a Plex server and lifetime pass already.
Let me save you some time
"Don't bother"
Writing is awful.
It felt like a showcase for visuals and little else
Watched 1/2 of Ted Lasso S1 and stopped. The idea might be funny but the content has almost no scene on the soccer field. Had feeling the director himself doesn't know soccer at all.