After the confirmed Disney-Fox merger, there is a new player in the field.
Just days after the announcement of the Disney-Fox merger, which will eventually change how content is consumed, Apple just had its annual event and launched Apple TV Plus.
Apple – the tech company that changed the world thanks to the late Steve Jobs - is the latest tech giant to enter the streaming battle scenario whose major players so far has been Netflix, Amazon and Disney. But they now have one more player to deal with and Apple is no small potatoes.
With more and more networks launching their own streaming services, Netflix is losing a lot of its content and within the next few years the competition will be fierce between these streaming services. With focus on original content, a new player has just jumped into the fray and they have great big plans.
Apple’ streaming service, called Apple TV Plus, is unlike Netflix or Amazon Prime Video; you don’t get access to a back catalogue of licensed shows or movies. Apple’s TV app is expanding to more devices in the coming months. Starting in May, the Apple TV app will offer add-on paid subscriptions and consumers will be able to stream some shows and movies from Apple’s partners like HBO. Yes, they have partnered with HBO. Take that Disney!
Apple TV is similar to subscription services like Netflix in the sense that consumers will get to watch original content consisting of TV shows and movies.
To make its own content, Apple has poured up to a billion dollars into getting big names to headline its content with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, J.J Abrams, Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon to name some prolific names. A great deal is still unknown that has critics talking but for now here are some big shows to watch out on Apple TV Plus…
Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell morning show drama
The new series (produced by Witherspoon’s company) is a drama about making a morning TV news show. It greatly draws inspiration from the book Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV by Brian Stelter. Steve Carell will be headlining the show alongside Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. Apple has ordered two seasons of 10 episodes each. Executive producer includes Jay Carson, who was previously a producer on House of Cards from Netflix.
Are You Sleeping
Apple has commissioned Reese Witherspoon’s production company once again to adapt the true-crime, best-selling book, Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber. The TV adaptation is written by Nichelle D. Tramble (The Good Wife, Justified) and will star Oscar winner Octavia Spencer known best for The Help. The story is about a hit podcast that reopens a long-closed murder case in the public eye, and unravels the life of the protagonist, Josie, who has finally put her troubled old life behind her.
M. Night Shyamalan thriller series
Apple has ordered a psychological thriller produced by M. Night Shyamalan, the director and writer of strangely appealing films such as Unbreakable, Split and Glass. Apple has ordered ten half-hour episodes, and Shyamalan will direct the first episode with multiple directors stepping in for the remaining episodes. The series will be written by Tony Basgallop with Toby Kibbell and Lauren Abrose said to star in the series. In addition, Rupert Grint, famous for playing Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, will feature in a supporting role.
