Business Standard:
Apple’s entertainment team must walk a line few in Hollywood would consider. Since Mr. Cook spiked “Vital Signs,” Apple has made clear, say producers and agents that it wants high-quality shows with stars and broad appeal, but it doesn’t want gratuitous sex, profanity or violence.
As a consumer-product company, Apple is especially exposed if content strikes a sour note, said Preston Beckman, a former NBC and Fox programming executive. For Netflix, the only risk is that people don’t subscribe, he said. “With Apple, you can say, ‘I’m going to punish them by not buying their phone or computer.’”
Apple has twice postponed the launch of its first slate of shows, moving it to March from late this year, agents and producers said. One leading producer with projects at Apple expects the date to be pushed back yet further.
I don’t think this is as big a problem for Apple as some make it out to be. After all, in theory, your “G” rated audience is going to be much bigger than your “R” rated audience. Apple wants to appeal to the broadest group of consumers it can – whether that be with iPhones or original content.
I can’t agree. The real pull of subscriptions-based video content is adult-oriented. People don’t subscribe to HBO for content oriented towards children — they want Game of Thrones. Ditto Netflix, Amazon, etc. It makes sense — adults are the ones paying, after all.
Even Disney has embraced R-rated material. And they’re *Disney*. And Disney has had serious problems in the past with boycotts over their content. And still, they’ve moved there.
And, as has been pointed out by others, Apple is quite content to serve up R-rated material on iTunes, in video, audio, and even books.
Plus: “it doesn’t want gratuitous sex, profanity or violence.”
What’s gratuitous? I remember, almost 15 years ago, my wife and I had my brother and his family over for dinner. The kids were around 8 at the time. I put Attack of the Clones on for them to watch while the adults were chatting.
I passed the TV on the way to the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine. Just in time to see the Jango Fett decapitation scene. That seemed a little gratuitous, but Disney will happily serve it up, and it didn’t get an R-rating.
This.
More importantly, which director is going to want to work for a subscription service if they feel like their back is being watched all the time for some definition of “gratuitous”?
There’s lots of competition in this space, and Apple is trying to carve its own niche, but if it truly wants to go pro, they’re going to have to provide some creative freedom, otherwise Netflix or Amazon will snap them up.
Apple may want to be the Old Disney. Not just the biggest.
I don’t really see why they insist on this when they sell all kinds of things in the iTunes store.
Disney owns Deadpool now & has said that they will not sanitize future releases. They have been producing MA & R rated content for awhile just not under the Disney label.
Apple during one of there keynotes touted HBO & Game of Thrones. They have all kinds of MA & R rated content on iTunes. This shows Apple’s not fully understanding the video streaming space, alienating directors & producers limits the content they can produce, especially when competing with HBO, Netflix, Amazon, FX which are much more open to auteurs and pushing story telling boundaries.
reselling vs producing your own content are two different things. They should do whatever the hell they want to do.
dear lord. how did all of network television survive all this time? you guys are so dramatic.
Who said rated G? There is great PG content, such as Lost, Better Call Saul, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, etc.. Basically ever network show ever created.
It’s not really two different things to the average person.
Of course they will do what they want.
Ads for free air coverage. And cable channels owned by the same companies. Seriously, it’s not remotely the same thing.
Meh. Apple can sell what Apple wants to sell, and create what it wants to create. I get that they don’t want to see the Apple brand on content that isn’t suitable for all ages. There’ll be no shortage of R/MA material elsewhere for those who prefer it.
And if this strategy doesn’t work for Apple (or has a deliberately planned duration), it will likely change.
It’s notable that many people consider this to be the true golden age of television.
Network television is _so_ skating to where the puck was.