Apple TV+ Is Shifting Away From Original Content and It Could Help It Win the Streaming Wars

It’s really not going out on much of a limb to say that Apple’s streaming service is a bit behind the game. Sure, it has more subscribers than Hulu. Of course, very few of them are actually paying for the service since Apple gave it away to anyone who bought one of its devices after the November launch last year. Finding paying customers, however, is sort of the reason you spend lots of money creating content and launching a new service.

Some of that content happens to be pretty good. The Morning Show earned a small handful of award nominations, and for good reason. Dickerson is quirky, but genuinely entertaining. The rest of the lot is curious, but no one is calling it poorly made. That’s because Apple spent plenty of money on original content in a play to take on Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+.

That strategy, however, hasn’t exactly gone the way the company likely hoped. If you need proof of that sense, look no further than the fact the company is now adding classic content to supplement its existing library.

Honestly, there’s probably more than one reason for the shift. And, it is a shift. Tim Cook had previously said “it doesn't feel right for Apple to just go out and take a rerun,” when asked why the service didn’t try to get Friends. Instead, what used to be Netflix’s most popular show is coming to HBO MAX when it launches next week.

Now, however, things are different. Now the company is reportedly getting out its AppleCard and spending money on licensed content.

One reason is that original content isn’t really a thing right now. At least, not the big-budget, high production value shows and films Apple was making. All of those productions are on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, and there’s only so much finished work in the pipeline before you have to figure out a different strategy.

Here’s the thing, Apple absolutely could dominate streaming video with the right content library. Disney+ is the runaway winner right now, with 55 million subscribers, half of whom signed on during the pandemic. And Disney clearly has what is arguably the best content library of any media company. But imagine if Apple started licensing everything else that was up for grabs. And it could.

I mean, let’s be honest, Apple has an enormous amount of cash it can spend on building up a content library—far more than Netflix or Disney or anyone else entering the fray. Apple could just buy a Netflix or a Disney if it wanted to. Especially Disney, especially right now.

Disney’s market cap is a bit over $200 billion as of today. Apple could cover that with cash alone and still have enough left over to save for more than a few rainy days.

The point is this: If Apple is serious about dominating streaming video, it has a lot of control over it’s own destiny. It will, however, have to make a shift in strategy, and maybe even swallow a little pride. That said, it appears Apple is playing for keeps, which, when you consider the stakes, would make me very nervous if I were Netflix or Disney right now.