It was a big day for Apple, who, in conjunction with announcing new line of iPhones and Apple Watches, finally dropped release date for Apple TV+. In massive keynote event, CEO Tim Cook told an enthused audience at Apple’s headquarters that the streaming service will be available on November 1st, preempting Disney’s upcoming Disney+ by eleven days. In tandem with beating the rival streamer to market, Apple also scored a victory on price, setting its monthly cost at $5 to Disney’s $7 and Netflix’s comparatively mammoth $13. Apple is also offering a free year of Apple TV+ with the purchase of one of its devices. The service will be available in over 100 countries worldwide and will be accessible on non-Apple hardware like Samsung TV’s, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku.
When Apple TV+ launches in November, a number of original series will debut with it. Among these shows will be the eagerly anticipated drama The Morning Show starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Anniston, comedy Dickinson based on the life of writer Emily Dickinson, and Jason Momoa-lead Drama See, which received its first trailer at Apple’s keynote event. Apple has also announced multitude of children’s shows including mystery Ghostwriter, cartoon Snoopy in Space, and educational series Helpsters. Per the Hollywood Reporter, it is expected that many of these series will see their first three episodes released on November 1st, and then have each subsequent episode released on a weekly basis. In tandem with these initial offerings, Cook announced plans to add more original shows every month after launch.
Speaking on the content his company envisions for the streaming service, Cook stated, “Our mission for Apple TV+ is to bring you the best original stories from the most creative minds in television and film; stories that help you find inspiration, that are grounded in emotion, truly stories to believe in, stories with purpose.”
Apple has not shied away from policing this vision, going as far as cancelling production on multiple series because they failed to adequately live up to Cook’s “inspirational” descriptor. Earlier this month, the company scrapped plans to release revenge drama Bastards on the grounds that its showrunners would not bend on making it less dark. Before that, Vital Signs, scripted series from Dr. Dre, was dropped by the tech giant for levels of sex and violence that were dubbed excessive.
The release of Apple TV+ comes as Apple is pivoting to streaming and subscription services across mediums, having replaced iTunes with Apple Music and offering magazines en masse with Apple News+. At its keynote, Apple announced a release date for Apple Arcade, a similar subscription service for mobile games.
Apple TV+ will launch on November 1st for $4.99 per month.