Apple TV Plus joins streaming wars with Oprah but no library

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As streaming wars near a fever pitch and viewers are targeted from every vant point — Disney Plus has Marvel and Star Wars brands! HBO Max counters with “Game of Thrones” and DC superheroes! — Apple TV Plus could be cast as highly pedigreed and improbable underdog.

While venture counts Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg among its first wave of talent, Apple TV Plus launches Friday with just a handful of original programs. It also lacks a warehouse of old shows and franchise films that can reliably draw stalgic viewers and produce spiffs, such as “ Mandalorian” for Disney Plus and HBO Max’s newly anunced “Game of Thrones” prequel, “House of Dragon.”

Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, former Sony Pictures Television presidents who are hes of worldwide video for Apple, say y are undaunted by comparisons and optimistic about streamer’s future. “We are working with some of most tremendously talented people we’ve ever met working in entertainment today,” Van Amburg said, and he sees m rising to challenge of building an enterprise in general and for tech giant Apple in particular. “re’s an expression that we use here across board at Apple: ‘Come to Apple and do best work of your life.’ That’s actually what we ask of everyone who comes here.”

re’s both opportunity and anxiety in being part of such a launch, said Kerry Ehrin, showrunner for Jennifer Aniston-Reese Wirspoon drama “ Morning Show.” “It’s a huge amount of pressure, but you can’t really live in that ,” Ehrin said. “You drive yourself crazy ... because you start creating for, ‘Oh, is this right, or is that gonna work?’ inste of just creating what you find compelling and entertaining.” Aniston, who’s also a producer for series, calls it “refreshing and exciting to be a part of something that’s just beginning. ... We’re building it all toger.”

Besides “ Morning Show,” service’s starting lineup includes Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard in futuristic drama “See,” Hailee Steinfeld in “Dickinson,” a revisionist take on poet Emily Dickinson, and wildlife documentary “ Elephant Queen.” Upcoming fare includes Spielberg’s revival of “Amazing Stories”; a book-focused series and or projects from Winfrey; psychological thriller “Servant” from M. Night Shyamalan and “ Banker” drama series starring Anthony Mackie and Joe Morris. A subscription costs $4.99 a month, with us allowed for up to six family members. Buyers of new Apple devices such as iPhone and iP get streamer free for a year. Among competition, Disney Plus (launching v. 12) is $6.99 monthly, HBO Max (May 2020) is $14.99 and, among existing services, it’s as low as $5.99 a month for Hulu and $8.99 each for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video (which is included with a $119 annual Amazon Prime membership).

re are deals to be h. Buyers of new Apple devices get a free year of Apple TV Plus and a seven-day trial is available without charge to all, enticements that mirror those of its competitors. For new services, free promotions are key to building a subscriber base, while retaining m will be ar challenge . To break out from pack, streamers are touting ir wares with carnival barker-like gusto. In a presentation Tuesday for HBO Max, part of AT&T-owned WarnerMedia, executives emphasized hits it will draw from WarnerMedia library, including full 10-season run of “Friends” (which it’s retrieving from Netflix), and newly purchased series including “South Park.”

Van Amburg and Erlicht , who in ir long tenure at Sony were involved with some of shows ir competitors stream, including Netflix’s Emmy-winning “ Crown,” brush away concerns about being library-less. Inste, executives stress a bonus y’re offering consumers in this dauntingly prolific television . Apple TV app, which houses Apple TV Plus and is available on iPhones, iPs and or iOS devices, also functions as a sort of Grand Central Terminal to efficiently access everything streaming, including from competitors (to be paid for accordingly). “We want to make it easy for user to find all things that y watch,” Erlicht said.

Viewers, especially cord-cutters seeking to escape hefty cable and satellite TV bills, likely will be choosy. A new study found that 70% of 4,816 respondents believe re will be too many streaming services and even more, 80%, worry streaming habit will become too expensive to maintain, according to findings from TV Time, a movie and TV tracking platform, and United Talent ncy’s data and analytics group, which joined in study .

According to research firm Magid, consumers are willing to subscribe to an aver of four streaming services and pay an aver of $42 a month for m. budget for streamers mselves? Based on reports, Apple Plus TV is spending $1 billion for its first year of programming, with Disney Plus at slightly under that and HBO Max budgeted for about $2 billion. By comparison, Netflix, with its deep bench of movies and buzzy original series including “Stranger Things,” shelled out a hefty $15 billion this year.

If Apple is serious about service it will have to open its wallet wider, said analyst Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities. lack of a library is ar significant drawback, one that could force Apple into acquisition of a major studio and its creative assets as early as in 2020, said Ives. He offered a bullish prediction for Apple TV Plus of possibly 100 million customers within three to four years, given its loyalists and 1.4 billion Apple devices worldwide. Streaming leer Netflix has about 160 million subscribers worldwide.

Apple, however, has long struggled to crack TV market, said Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak. While it has plenty of capital to throw at Apple TV Plus and a built-in consumer base, he said, it remains to be seen if its new service ultimately is among survivors of streaming’s fierce contest. Major companies can’t always break into ar sector, he said, citing Google’s attempt to compete against Facebook with Google Plus. “Just because you have a lot of money doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to be successful,” Wlodarczak said.