Apple TV+ Celebrates Five Years of Streaming Entertainment
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Apple’s video streaming subscription service, Apple TV+, is celebrating its fifth birthday today. The streaming service was first announced at a March 2019 Apple event, alongside several other new Apple services, including the Apple Card, Apple News+, and Apple Arcade.
Apple TV+ came out of the gate with a bit of a handicap, as it had only a modest library of original content. Instead of buying up content from numerous studios, like Netflix and Amazon Prime, Apple TV+ built its library from scratch with original productions.
Apple decided to start slow, focusing on quality over quantity. It worked with creators to produce an exclusive library of high-quality series, films, and documentaries. At launch, the platform boasted titles like For All Mankind, The Morning Show, See, and Dickinson.
In the five years since its debut, Apple TV+ has expanded its lineup to include a wide range of content, including series that have proved to be popular among critics and viewers alike. Popular shows on the service over the years include Ted Lasso, Severance, and Foundation. The service has added children’s programming, documentaries, and award-winning feature films. Apple TV+ has scored multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, and Academy Award nominations and wins for its content — including being the first streaming service to win the coveted Oscar for Best Picture for CODA.
In October, Apple released the trailer for the second season of its popular science fiction series Silo. The drama, based on Hugh Howey’s New York Times bestselling Wool trilogy of dystopian novels, was created by Emmy-nominated screenwriter Graham Yost, who also serves as the showrunner.
Silo is the story of the last ten thousand people on earth, living in a mile-deep home that they are told is protecting them from a toxic and deadly outside world. However, no one knows when or why the silo was built. Anyone who ventures to find out more faces fatal consequences. The show stars Rebecca Ferguson as Juliette, an engineer who seeks answers about a loved one’s murder, leading her to investigate a mystery that goes far deeper than she could have ever imagined.
The 10-episode second season will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, November 15, with the first episode followed by a new episode every Friday through the middle of January 17.
In addition to films and series, Apple TV+ has also added sporting events to its lineup, making deals with both Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer to stream games.
Friday Night Baseball debuted in April 2022 and offers a “doubleheader” each Friday night during the regular season. MLB Network’s production team produces all broadcasts in partnership with Apple’s team. Each game broadcast employs state-of-the-art cameras, including high-speed Phantoms and the high-resolution Megalodon, to present vivid, live-action shots and offer immersive sound in 5.1, including spatial audio.
The Apple broadcasts include innovative on-screen graphics, including probabilities-based forecasts of various situational outcomes. Apple TV+ also offers highlights and live look-ins at other games from around the league, all integrated into the broadcast.
Fans can also see on-screen info about batters’ walk-up songs from Apple Music, test their knowledge of baseball trivia with help from Siri, and more.
In June 2022, Apple announced a partnership with Major League Soccer to stream every MLS match via the Apple TV app for the next 10 years, beginning in 2023. Every MLS live match is available for streaming, with no local blackouts or restrictions. The deal offers soccer fans access to all MLS and League Cup games, as well as select MLS Next Pro and MLS Next matches.
Apple TV+ is available across a wide range of devices and platforms, both Apple and non-Apple, and is available for $9.99 monthly or as a part of an Apple One subscription bundle.
