Apple is in discussions to move its growing original video content division to the legendary Culver Studios while battling with Netflix over the rights to a brand new high-profile original drama series starring actresses Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.
Apple's official YouTube channel on Tuesday shared a pair of ads promoting upcoming episodes of “Carpool Karaoke”, with the show's latest episode now airing on Apple Music.
Just how much should Apple's iTunes Store charge for 4K movie downloads?
According to The Wall Street Journal on Monday, Apple has proposed pricing new 4K movie releases at $19.99, which is precisely what the company currently charges purchases of major digital movie releases in full HD (1080p) resolution on iTunes Store.
Hollywood is reportedly discussing ways to make the latest digital flicks from major studios available for purchase or renting as soon as two weeks following their theatrical debuts in order to make up for declining sales of DVDs in the age of Netflix.
Apple's turned James Corden's late-night “Carpool Karaoke” segment into an original series promoted heavily since its August 8 debut, with an upcoming episode starring actresses Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams who play Sansa and Arya Stark in HBO's “Game of Thrones.”
As news broke that Apple is poised to become a major player in Hollywood by spending a cool $1 billion on original TV shows and movies in the next year, Variety reports that Matt Cherniss, who was a president and general manager of WGN America and Tribune Studios, has joined the Cupertino technology giant's growing worldwide video team.
Apple has set aside a reported $1 billion war chest to procure and produce as many as ten television shows over the next year, according to the Wall Street Journal today.
Entertainment conglomerate Disney announced during its latest earnings report today that it intends to end a major distribution deal inked with Netflix a few years ago and pull all of its movies from the popular service, including Disney as well as Pixar's titles, CNBC said today.
Facebook has been hosting user-uploaded videos for a few years now, but the uploaded clips haven't generated enough advertising revenue to treat the social network as a primary distribution outlet for premium video entertainment.
To revert that trend, Facebook has started to bankroll the creation of its own video series that'll appear later this year via a new Video tab (also called Spotlight) that hasn’t been released yet.
A second tab is also in the works, devoted to the “more high-end programming”.
To help boost the initiative, the company has hired Ricky Van Veen, co-founder of comedy site College Humor, Netflix executive Sarah Madigan to acquire video programs and former MTV executive Mina Lefevre to oversee the development of new shows.
According to Bloomberg, the company “is closing deals” for its first batch of shows, including reality competition series “Last State Standing” and a second season of comedy “Loosely Exactly Nicole,” which first appeared on MTV.
Plus, the company is said to fund some exclusive “hero” shows with six-figure budgets: it's reportedly willing to spend a couple hundred thousand dollars per episode.
An excerpt from the report:
Facebook is funding two kinds of programs -- a handful of more expensive series from established TV producers that will take a few months to produce (hero shows, they are called) and a bunch of shorter, cheaper videos from publishers like Vox Media Inc. and BuzzFeed Inc. (called spotlight shows). All shows will be episodic and designed to spur conversation among Facebook users.
Facebook is giving publishers a minimum guarantee of $10,000 to $20,000 per spotlight show episode. After Facebook's exclusive rights end, the videos can be made available elsewhere. The company will share ad revenue with the publishers, who can start to sell their own advertisements “after a brief period”.
Rather than compete directly with paid services like Netflix, HBO and Showtime, Facebook is targeting cable networks and ad-driven online services with young viewers in an effort to grab a slice of the massive $70 billion TV advertising market pie.
As per The Wall Street Journal, Facebook is paying pro video game teams and others in the eSports industry to broadcast on its service. The hope for Facebook is that funding video will prompt production firms and studios to upload premium video that could be monetized.
But make no mistake, Facebook's end game is to “eclipse TV,” according to Matthew Segal, chief executive officer of ATTN, a digital media company that publishes video to Facebook.
“Not only do nearly 100 percent of people under 35 have an account, but they are spending over 1,000 minutes a month on Facebook,” said ATTN’s Segal.
Apple, too, is setting its sights on original video programming.
Earlier today, news broke that Sony Pictures Television presidents Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht are joining Apple to help accelerate its push into original programming. Earlier this month, Apple began airing “Planet of the Apps” to all Apple Music members via the Music app's new TV & Movies section found under the Browse tab.
Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg are joining Apple from Sony Pictures Television, the Cupertino giant announced Friday.
In their new Apple role, Erlicht and Van Amburg will be tasked with overseeing all aspects of Apple's video programming, including its video programming worldwide.
Variety says Sony hasn't named their replacement and it's unclear if the studio has an internal successor ready to take the helm of the production unit that is crucial to its bottom line.
Jamie Erlicht was quoted in Apple's press release as saying the following:
It will be an honor to be part of the Apple team. We want to bring to video what Apple has been so successful with in their other services and consumer products—unparalleled quality.
Zack Van Amburg added:
Apple has a relentless focus on delighting customers with their products. We will bring that same intention to Apple’s programming and we could not be more excited about what lies ahead.
Reporting to Eddy Cue, Apple's Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, the two executives have extensive expertise producing television for global audiences and creating programming for video services like Amazon, Hulu and Netflix.
Cue was quoted as saying:
Jamie and Zack are two of the most talented TV executives in the world and have been instrumental in making this the golden age of television. We have exciting plans in store for customers and can’t wait for them to bring their expertise to Apple—there is much more to come.
Both executives were longtime presidents of Sony Pictures Television since 2005, helping produce hit shows like “Breaking Bad”, “Better Call Saul”, “The Crown”, “Rescue Me” and more.
Their shows won 36 Emmys and dozens of Golden Globes, AFI and WGA awards.
“Carpool Karaoke: The Series,” Apple's first original show based on the popular segment on “The Late Late Show” with James Corden, will premiere August 8 on Apple Music. The news was revealed in today's tweet by Eddy Cue, Apple's chief of Internet Software and Services.
The show was originally supposed to air on Apple Music beginning April 2017, but the iPhone maker was forced to postpone its arrival due to tight production schedule.
All sixteen episodes will debut on Tuesdays, available only to Apple Music members.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2fipKCrV3I
Featuring a different host every episode, Apple's version of “Carpool Karaoke” replaces the show's regular host James Corden with actors, comedians, athletes and other celebrities, who will be seen riding along in a car together as they're singing different tunes.
Some of the confirmed celebrities that will appear on the show include Will Smith, Billy Eichner, Metallica, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Ariana Grande, Seth MacFarlane, Chelsea Handler, Blake Shelton, Michael Strahan, John Cena and Shaquille O’Neal.
“Planet of the Apps,” Apple's show about apps and their creators, is coming this year. Apple wrapped up filming of that one back in February 2017, but it's unclear when exactly the company might release it on Apple Music.
Google today updated its official YouTube TV app with support for AirPlay, an Apple technology that lets you play video streamed from your iPhone or iPad on a TV set through your Apple TV.
“Announcing AirPlay! There are a few bug fixes and minor improvements in this thing, too. But mostly AirPlay,” reads the changelog for YouTube TV on App Store.
Prior to today's update, YouTube TV only supported broadcasting content from the app to a television set via Google's Chromecast HDMI dongle.
Google launched its new streaming television service back in April 2017.
In exchange for $35 per month, cord-cutters can enjoy live TV streaming from Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC and other popular cable networks along with content from an additional 39 local broadcast networks and channels, like ESPN.
Some sports channels like Fox Soccer Plus, as well as premium networks such as Showtime, are available for an additional monthly charge. DVR with unlimited storage is included in the subscription at no additional charge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qediav063xQ
YouTube TV can be used with up to six accounts in a single household without needing to share passwords between family members.
YouTube TV is separate from the YouTube Red service, which costs ten bucks per month.
YouTube TV is currently limited to select cities, like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia and the San Francisco Bay Area.
For more information, visit tv.youtube.com/tv/availability.
You can try YouTube TV free for 30 days by signing up at tv.youtube.com.