Nearly six months into its launch, Apple is finally
preparing to offer older movies and TV shows to complement its slate of original programming.
The company’s video executives are talking with studios and have already agreed to license
some content, albeit not of the “blockbuster” variety, reports Bloomberg.
Up to now, Apple has focused on
forming content partnerships with high-profile production companies and executives, including former HBO chairman and CEO Richard Plepler and Oprah Winfrey. It also formed an in-house studio in
conjunction with Spielberg-Hanks Production.
While Apple plans to continue to focus on original programming, it has come to acknowledge that offering a mix of new and old programming will it
help it better compete with Netflix, Disney+, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video, according to the knowledgeable sources.
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Apple TV+, which costs only $4.99 per month, currently offers just 30
original shows and movies, but provides its app users access to subscribing to HBO, Showtime and other services for broader content variety.
TV+, which is free for a year for buyers of Apple
devices, had drawn a modest 10 million sign-ups by February, and only half of those proved to be active users, according to Bloomberg’s sources.