Media

Apple's Movie Business Fails

Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

24/7 Wall St. Insights

  • Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has the cash war chest to stay in the streaming business forever, but should it?
  • Its best chance at being a leading streaming service is slipping away.
  • Also: Discover the Next Nvidia.

A look at Apple TV+ shows it does not have much content available. It has a few movies, but at the head of that list are minor TV and movie productions like “Bad Monkey” and “Ted Lasso.” Ted has already had its final season. Certainly, the service doesn’t look like the hundreds of shows Netflix has, many of which it produced itself. The same is true with Amazon Prime Video.

What Is Apple Thinking?

Apple rethinks its movie strategy.
Courtesy of Apple TV+
Rethinking its strategy.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has the cash war chest to stay in the streaming business forever. However, it appears that investment would be wasted. The New York Times recently ran a story with the headline, “Apple Rethinks Its Movie Strategy After a String of Misses.” One example was a new movie titled “Wolfs,” which stars two of Hollywood’s most bankable stars: Brad Pitt and George Clooney. The film was supposed to open in movie theaters across the country. Now it will have a much more limited release and then move to streaming after a single week in theaters. Clooney seemed to be surprised.

Apple is learning the hard way what it is like to be among the last big companies to get into the streaming business. There is not much room to get market share. Aside from dominant Netflix and Amazon, there are Disney+, Max (formerly HBO Max), Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and half a dozen others trying to elbow their way to market share and profits. Services like Disney+ have lost billions of dollars along the way.

Apple’s theory, which did not work, was that it could use its installed base of 2 billion devices, like the iPhone and iPad, to drive subscriptions. That device owners apparently were not interested, which means Apple’s best chance at a streaming service has disappeared.

Prediction: This Magnificent 7 Stock Will Rally Through Summer

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