Apple’s ‘Netflix killer’ Expected to Cost $9.99/month for Premium Channels, Original Shows Won’t Be Free

Apple Will Avoid Violent, Risqué Original TV Content for 2019 Credit: Apple
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With only a few hours to go before Apple unveils its new video service, we’re still seeing new information surfacing on exactly what Apple is going to announce later today and what form it will take.

The Wall Street Journal has published a detailed look at what it expects to see from Apple’s event, challenging some of the assumptions that had previously been reported. Most notably, the Journal notes that despite prior rumours to the contrary, Apple will not be offering any of its original content for free. The Journal cites sources who are working on the project, and acknowledges that those people previously indicated that at least some of Apple’s original content could be free to Apple device owners, suggesting that the company may have changed its mind somewhere along the way.

While many have expected that Apple would offer a bundle of premium channels for a single price, the report from the Journal casts some doubt on whether this is the case, stating that “Apple has been negotiating [with Starz, Showtime, and HBO] to offer their shows to users for $9.99 a month each” (emphasis ours). If accurate, this would suggest that all Apple has succeeded in doing is providing standardized pricing for third-party content providers, and while this would be a price drop in some cases (although it’s $1/month more for Starz), it definitely won’t make Apple’s new streaming service nearly as appealing as many have hoped.

However, this does seem to line up with reports late last week that Apple might create a “TV Storefront” that would contain multiple subscription packages. It’s also still not entirely certain which premium channels will be participating — Apple has been said to have been in talks with HBO until the eleventh hour, and we know for sure that Netflix and Hulu won’t be on board (although that should come as a surprise to no one). Ultimately, however, Apple may be banking on the benefits of a “one-stop shop” to draw in subscribers.

In this case, it sounds like Apple’s own original content may simply be another subscription that users can choose to sign up for alongside premium channels like HBO, although no information is available on what Apple will charge for its own original content, or whether it may choose to bundle it with other subscriptions.

One thing that also still remains unclear is how widely Apple is going to release its new video service at launch. While the company plans to reach more than 100 markets worldwide, there’s a good chance that this is going to be a slower rollout — particularly where the premium channels are concerned, as licensing arrangements will probably continue to limit those to the countries where they’re already available. On the other hand, however, although it’s not likely coming until later this year, Apple’s own original content shouldn’t have any licensing restrictions that would prevent international distribution, although there will obviously be language issues. This raises some additional questions about how Apple would price the service in other countries — if Apple’s original content is available in Canada and the U.K., for instance, but none of the premium bundles are, will users still be expected to pay $10 month solely to watch Apple’s own content?

The Journal also suggests that Apple is likely to introduce its rumoured Roku partnership today, along with several other partnerships. Some of these may simply be Apple reiterating what we already know about AirPlay 2 coming to smart TVs, but it’s also possible that we could see more than just AirPlay 2; for example it would make a lot of sense for Apple to deploy its actual TV app to these devices, and there’s already precedent for this with Samsung’s new smart TVs including iTunes apps.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]

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