Report Claims Apple's Original Programming Efforts Will Avoid Mature Content

[nwcs]

Surest way to hear whining is in a discussion about television programming. That goes for both sides.

What I find really interesting is how people are trying to justify their choice of what “high quality” programming means. In essence, it seems that “high quality” = “whatever I like to watch”.

 

[pika2000]

Is this news? Steve Jobs has explicitly stated what Apple values are from way back (regarding the app store). This should not be news nor surprising, it's consistent. If you want more, there's the open internet.

If you really must have your mature content on your TV, just Airplay your Safari browser.

 

[Icy1007]

Apple will only show wholesome Christian programming at this point...

 

[bLackjackj]

Good, too much smut on TV as is.

You do realise that Apple hires out every single genre in it's iTunes store, including titles that could really be classified as softcore pron?

A little hypocritical, so thank you Tim for trying to be the eyes, ears and censorship guru for all of mankind. Thankfully, there are much better options, on your OWN movie rental store!
[doublepost=1537793554][/doublepost]

s this news? Steve Jobs has explicitly stated what Apple values are from way back (regarding the app store). This should not be news nor surprising, it's consistent. If you want more, there's the open internet.

You've never browsed Apple OWN iTunes store then, nor movie apps on Apple TV that offer way over 'Mature' content.

 

[pika2000]

You do realise that Apple hires out every single genre in it's iTunes store, including titles that could really be classified as softcore pron?

A little hypocritical, so thank you Tim for trying to be the eyes, ears and censorship guru for all of mankind. Thankfully, there are much better options, on your OWN movie rental store!
[doublepost=1537793554][/doublepost]

You've never browsed Apple OWN iTunes store then, nor movie apps on Apple TV that offer way over 'Mature' content.

Censorship? What censorship? I can Airplay Safari to my TV and play anything I want.

 

[cajun67]

Apple's content won't have gratuitous sex, profanity or violence?

I'm out.

 

[Muzzakus]

If Apple wants to be Disney, good luck to them. Not my preferred style, but the kids may like it.

 

[lkrupp]

You do realise that Apple hires out every single genre in it's iTunes store, including titles that could really be classified as softcore pron?

A little hypocritical, so thank you Tim for trying to be the eyes, ears and censorship guru for all of mankind. Thankfully, there are much better options, on your OWN movie rental store!
[doublepost=1537793554][/doublepost]

You've never browsed Apple OWN iTunes store then, nor movie apps on Apple TV that offer way over 'Mature' content.

Not the censorship guru of all mankind but of the Apple ecosystem which, by the way, is joined voluntarily and which one can leave any time they wish to. So if you want to watch blood and guts, graphic sex, man’s inhumanity to man, don’t join. I have stopped watching most crime dramas, drug dealer epics, and Hollywood political message tripe because I believe it does indeed soil the mind and soul. Children watching that stuff does desensitize them to violence. Our society is becoming more and more violent. Children are being taught at home that violence is the way you deal with problems, not talking it out.

So you can watch whatever you want from other sources.

 

[Elmo1938]

Apple's original TV shows are expected to be distributed through a new video streaming service, which could also be bundled with an Apple Music subscription and a digital magazine and news subscription.

How many people will sign up? What makes this content so great?
Does the world really need a new studio?

If apple wants to become a TV producer and distributor they should buy one

 

[maxfromdenmark]

I would rather to choose self what I want to watch. I'm grown up already uncle Apple.

 

[ninethirty]

It shouldn't be surprising, but it should be a reason for Apple to consider whether or not this is a market worth getting into.

Clearly there's a demand for mature content. Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO, Showtime, etc, are proving this on a daily basis.

So ok, Apple wants to get into family friendly, not controversial TV programming. There's a LOT of that already. Most network channels fit into this category, at least until later already, and Disney is readying it's own streaming service which will almost certainly have a large focus on family friendly content. Apple's not even in this game yet, and already they're up against some pretty stiff competition.

Personally I don't think its' going to work out well for them, but I'm also not a business exec, but if I had to bet on this, I'd bet on it failing.

Is this news? Steve Jobs has explicitly stated what Apple values are from way back (regarding the app store). This should not be news nor surprising, it's consistent. If you want more, there's the open internet.

If you really must have your mature content on your TV, just Airplay your Safari browser.

 

[nviz22]

What if Apple had the next Game of Thrones in its hands? Well, that "mature content policy" could lose Apple additional revenue.

 

[bbeagle]

So what? Apple service will be targeted only to people with kids? They can just have a kids account like Netflix, so adults can watch what they want and parents that like to keep their kids in a bubble are free to do so.

You're right, they could.

It's just that parents choose services based on how adult/not adult some service seems to be.

Cinemax? It's 'Skinemax'. Nope. Not coming into our household.
HBO? Adult shows like Game of Thrones, but it's also the only place to get Sesame Street.
Netflix? Yep, has a kids account, so seems safe.

Apple is trying to become Disney. Which doesn't only help in streaming services, but overall.

If Disney marketed a stroller, and Cinemax marketed a stroller, guess which one parents would buy? Apple is trying to get in the same game where you'll buy their 'family friendly' phones, tablets, etc. over other competitors. It's all about perception, not reality.

 

[kmj2318]

The type of content is irrelevant imo. Apple continues to fail because it sees content as branding. Planet of the Apps is a big Apple commercial. Tim is looking at these shows as branding, not as entertainment. I can't imagine what it's like working as a creative in that situation.

I don't care that they won't have mature content. It seems like most of the highly rated shows are mature. They should make shows the whole family can enjoy, like TV versions of Pixar movies. That's what missing most in TV these days.

 

[ninethirty]

We wouldn't want kids understanding anything about the world or other people now would we?

Good. Hopefully that means they can keep the LGBT stuff to a minimum too

 

[bLackjackj]

So if you want to watch blood and guts, graphic sex, man’s inhumanity to man, don’t join.

Did you not read what I said? Apples ecosystem ALREADY includes all the above,..its called iTunes & it's on EVERY iPad, iPhone & AppleTV!

So what your saying is that you have joined & don't mind,..a little hypocritical no?

 

[cmaier]

This is fine by me. I prefer immature content.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

While I do feel like these requirements rule out Orange is the New Black, Game of Thrones, Rick and Morty, House of Cards, South Park, Bojack Horseman, etc...

There is some okay programming that could be allowed. Pixar and Disney esque stuff. Modern Family. Most episodes of The Office.

 

[SpinThis!]

Why doesn't Apple just buy Netflix or ABC already if it wants to get into content? Is Apple's hardware business not making them enough money? It seems like this is an unnecessary distraction to their core business.

Apple needs to stick to the business it's in: hardware that just happens to run really great software.

I really don't care what type of content Apple wants to create but it seems the new Apple under Cook will do anything that makes them money versus the Jobs' way of creating the best products they can.

Speaking off which: how about some new Mac Pros to actually give these content creators the tools to do their jobs properly? At least Jobs understood this was a priority.

 

[sw1tcher]

Apple is playing like Disney. Family friendly.

Bambi's mother being shot and killed is "family friendly?" Great way to start a "family friendly" movie.

Snow White being poisoned by the evil queen is "family friendly?" Throughout the entire move, the queen persistently tries to kill Snow White.

How about when Scar kills his own brother (Mufasa) in The Lion King?

There's plenty of violence in Disney movies.

Then there are the sexual innuendos and gestures Little Bo Peep makes toward Woody in Toy Story.

 

[psac]

Apple is playing like Disney. Family friendly.

Actually, I'm all for shows like Game of Thrones throwing in one of their many great TV-MA scenes, but when Jessica Jones threw in unnecessary sex scenes, it made me uncomfortable. Maybe I'm getting prudish in my 40s, but a Disney/Marvel superhero show doesn't really need that to add to the story. You can cut away at the proper time to still tell what's going on and who with.

 

[nt5672]

Apple is unlikely to produce original content that contains gratuitous sex, violence, profanity, or risqué storylines, according to a report published over the weekend by the Wall Street Journal.

The article cites several sources familiar with Apple's original programming plans who say Apple wants to avoid putting its name to anything that could risk tainting its wider brand image. . . . .

Exactly their right to do, and exactly why I'll never use or view their content, curated news, etc. Of course one has to wonder why they have music in iTunes Music by artists that promote explicit sex, police hating, etc. ideology. Seems a bit two-faced to me.
[doublepost=1537798403][/doublepost]

You obviously do not have kids.

Exactly, Apple should mark explicit or mature content so people are not able to see it or search for it unless they opt in. But that does not help assuage their greedy image, like banning does. They think mature content is a small market and therefore image trumps profits. After all, their major customer base is teenagers, and we have to protect the kids because parents are too dumb to do it.

 

[bluecoast]

Fine by me, Apple’s prerogative.

There are plenty of shows I like which have mature content, but it seems almost every new show these days is some gritty reimagining and boy does that get old quick.

If I try to watch something new I find it’s a bit tedious to sit through needless nudity shoehorned in, or exaggerated violence, just to wait for a plot to evolve.

Really agree.

Without wanting to come over as a prude (I’m not), I think it’s way way harder to make smart and/or funny shows without resorting to turning up the ‘sex and violence’ levers (for sensation) - so I don’t think this is bad at all.

Finally - please Apple, no more super-hero shows. I beg you!

 

[theluggage]

I'm a huge fan of Star Trek and was VERY turned off that Discovery used the f-bomb twice in one scene in one episode.

So, never mind about the gore, violence, torture, cannibalism, cruelty to tardigrades and other areas where Discovery went where no Trek has gone before (at least not on TV) - OMG they said a naughty word - think of the children! Maybe stick to Battlestar Galactica (the 21st century version) - they use made-up curse words instead, so its all good, clean wholesome fun (not!)

You're right though - you don't need swearing and explicit sex & gore to entertain, and a few more good shows that adults and kids could watch together wouldn't be a bad thing. If I want to watch people have sex I'm certainly getting fed up with "mature" superhero shows where Dyno-Person agonises about whether chucking Big Bad into the Sun would be murder, while happily subjecting the minions to graphic, bloody beatings that would, realistically, leave 30% of them in a vegetative state. (Dear Netflix: doing that once is OK, doing it 4-5 times, not so much). The Incredibles was basically a family-friendly interpretation of ideas from Watchmen and that worked pretty well...

Not sure a family-friendly version of American Gods would have worked, but the show was gorier than the book.

However, what Apple seems to be saying is that they don't dare show anything that anybody might find offensive and won't produce "mature" content even if its tagged as such - part of the reason for the current glut of frackfests is a backlash against the hyper-conservative attitudes of the big networks.

It sounds like Apple want to have their cake and eat it: they wan't to use their brand name to ensure the success of their foray into programme-making, but they don't want any criticism of those programmes to blow back on their other products. Good luck with that - a boring, un-hip image with the sort of "young adults" won't be good for phone sales, either.

 

[bluespark]

Great decision, in my view. There are numerous outlets for TV with risqué content -- which is readily available on Apple products -- but less quality original program that is written with families in mind. Or to put it differently, there is a huge category of subject material capable of thoughtful, interesting treatment that doesn't require graphic sex, violence, or foul language to tell the story well. The fact Apple seems to have a clear sense of its identity when it comes to content creation is a good thing.