Apple is all set to enter the entertainment business arena and fight it out with Amazon Prime Video and Netflix real soon. According to a WSJ report, the Cupertino-based giant is now eyeing the space with its original TV shows, something that Amazon has harnessed to great effect in recent years.
The yet to be named video streaming service will be part of an Apple monthly subscription package, in addition to Apple Music which is already available right now. The service is expected to be available as early as end of 2017, putting it on course for better user adoption on its ecosystem, which already has over 10 billion iPhone users across the globe.
The report cites sources saying Tim Cook's company has got in touch with multiple producers to buy rights for series and films.
Amazon and Netflix are the biggest competition for Apple in this space, but with a movie-streaming service and a music library, it could also topple Spotify from its position in the music streaming market.
Amazon offers originals like The Grand Tour, hosted by BBC’s ex- Top Gear presenters, on Prime Video. Netflix has a larger number of originals, ranging from Narcos to hit series House of Cards and Stranger Things.
It’s high time Apple ventured into the video streaming segment, with countries like India now becoming a hot destination for Amazon and Netflix, where both of them are already available.
Apple’s got its own Apple TV series which could hugely benefit from such content integration, giving its consumers the exclusivity they crave for, for the price they pay.
Apple’s history with entertainment majors could play a pivotal role in getting them popular content, but for now, all we can say is, for consumers, the video streaming space is slowly but surely eating into the space that was occupied by good old television.
(Source: WSJ)
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