I’m pleased to present the 480th edition of the VideoNuze podcast, with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

The stakes keep increasing for Apple’s original programming, as the company has reportedly upped its commitment to the initiative to $6 billion. As Colin and I discuss, the company is likely starting to realize just how much it will take to put its Apple TV+ SVOD service on the map. Colin suggests a studio acquisition may even be essential, and suggests possibly Sony Pictures.

All this is unfolding against a rapidly declining transactional video market, in which Apple has been a key player, with consumer behavior moving to subscriptions.

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The Financial Times reported that Apple has committed to spend $6 billion on original TV shows and movies for its upcoming Apple TV+ service, which will launch in November. That’s up from the $1 billion it was reportedly budgeting just 2 years ago. The increase no doubt reflects the hard reality that has set in at Apple about what it’s going to cost to compete, rather than just dip its toe in the SVOD water.

Included in the budget is a $300 million commitment for 20 episodes of “The Morning Show” with Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carrell (working out to $15 million per episode). Bloomberg separately reported the monthly price will be $9.99, above the introductory $6.99 per month Disney+ price but below Netflix’s $12.99 per month price. Though Apple teased a number of its upcoming shows at its big March media event, it didn’t reveal anything on pricing.

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I’m pleased to present the 479th edition of the VideoNuze podcast, with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

Q2 was a very tough quarter for pay-TV operators, with cord-cutting soaring to a record level. This week we dive into the numbers and discuss why things have changed so dramatically since Q2 ’18. Then we transition to the Viacom-CBS deal, which was formally announced this week. Colin sees substantial upside, leveraging Pluto TV, which Viacom acquired earlier this year.

Listen in to learn more!

 
Click here to listen to the podcast (21 minutes, 20 seconds)
 

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The VideoNuze podcast is also available in iTunes...subscribe today!

Cord-cutting surged to a record in Q2 ’19, with pay-TV providers that account for 93% of the industry losing just over 1.5 million subscribers, according to Leichtman Research Group. The loss is up from 420K in Q2 ’18. As usual, satellite providers were responsible for the majority of the losses, with DirecTV losing 778K subscribers in the quarter and Dish losing 79K. The combined drop was nearly double the 480K lost in Q2 ’18.

The biggest seven cable TV operators lost a combined  455K subscribers in Q2 ’19 compared to a loss of 275K a year ago.

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