According to a report (which cites several unnamed sources), Apple is looking to enter the video streaming market as Amazon is set to scale back its ambitious plans for Prime Video.
The report states that Apple has informed its entertainment content partners that its streaming service will be ready to launch sometime mid-April. Rumours about such a video streaming service have been floating around for some time now. Recent reports have suggested that it would launch in the first half of 2019. To add more fuel to the fire, Apple has released a handful of exclusive documentaries for its Apple Music subscribers. So a video service integrated with it is a logical next step.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has been hinting about his plans for the company’s video service for a while now. In an interview with CNBC earlier this month, he stated that Apple would announce “new material additions” to its product lineup in 2019. Rumours coming out of this interview soon started gaining traction. As of now, along with the video streaming service, a move into news & magazine subscriptions is also in the cards.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Apple has been acquiring rights and content deals for several different TV shows and movies. It is also rumoured that they will be taking a similar approach to Amazon’s Prime Video service. Apple too will be likely offering premium-channel subscriptions from content providers. Currently, Prime Video members can subscribe to individual video channels for a small monthly fee. Expect a similar, iTunes integrated model from them too.
With iTunes forming the backbone and base of its video streaming platform, Apple may be a serious competitor to dominant industry players like Netflix and Hulu. With Netflix recently raising prices by as much as $3 on some of its subscription tiers, the time is ripe to enter the market. If Apple offers compelling video content at a competitive price that also includes an Apple Music subscription option, we could see Apple going head to head with services like Netflix, Hulu & Prime Video very soon.
Would you opt in/switch to an Apple Video streaming service with Apple music bundled in? We’d love to hear from you guys down below!