Apple, it seems, should invest heavily in creating original content. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the brand has a budget of around $1 billion to spend on developing its own programming in 2018.
Apple's first forays into original content began later this year, with the shows "Carpool Karaoke" and "Planet of the Apps," which debuted on Apple Music. The WSJ report further says that Apple will be able to add up to 10 more TV shows to its offerings over the next year using the aforementioned budget.
The Apple Story Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president, responsible for overseeing streaming music and video content, would have intended to offer content similar to HBO's "Game of Thrones" over the company's streaming offerings. The question is, what would the program look like?
According to WSJ sources, spending the funds will be left to Apple's entertainment industry employees Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, who have taken over the main programming duties. Now, with staff dedicated to a wider range of programming, Apple may even be able to separate its video streaming efforts from Apple Music.
Creating your own programming has a high cost. Amazon Prime Video, for example, would have planned to spend US$4,5 billion in 2017. Netflix, in turn, is expected to invest US$6 billion. Therefore, the value of Apple may be low, having to increase the budget.
