Apple is believed to unveil details of its long-awaited streaming TV service on a March 25, 2019 event with the tag line ‘It’s show time’.
Apple will probably announce the launch of its TV service in April 2019 in the US, with an international roll-out to follow. It is expect to launch in over 100 countries, making Apple a competitor with both Amazon and Netflix.
The company has lined up programming including a series about a morning TV show starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, a series from La La Land director Damien Chazelle, an Amazing Stories reboot from Steven Spielberg and an animated series from the creator of Fox’s Bob’s Burgers.
In addition to its original content, Apple plans to offer subscription services from other programmers, with deals with CBS, Showtime, Starz and Viacom in the can, but not yet with HBO.
Customers would be able to buy a single subscription through the Apple App Store, rather than taking out multiple subscriptions for each of the streaming services, while Apple would share the revenue with the video providers by providing its distribution platform.
The amount charged by Apple is believed to be around 30%, with some programmers balking at this high percentage.