Apple TV Plus needs more than one great show at a time to beat Netflix

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• Apple TV Plus needs more than one great show at a time to beat Netflix

What defines a great streaming service for you? I am currently based in the UK and subscribe to Netflix, Now TV, Amazon Prime and Mubi. Thanks to work, I have access to HBO Max, Hulu and Disney Plus. However, the first three are the services I land on first when I turn on my PS4 every night (and I mean every night right now). The reason I always prioritize these services is because I'm sure I can count on them to give me something to look at, or that I'm already in the middle of something I'd like to finish. Apple TV Plus, on the other hand, is a service I've only tried for a week. I had a 7-day free trial so I could record (the excellent) Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet, a decision I don't regret. And I recently considered subscribing again to watch the documentary Beastie Boys Story and Central Park, a new animated series from the creator of Bob's Burgers. The continued absence of an Apple TV app for PS4 means it's not as convenient as watching these other services. And collectively, these offers aren't enough to make me feel like I have to put down $4.99 to see them. After all, like everyone else, I can currently stream streaming services in terms of time spent on TV shows. And while Apple has done a great job of feeding new series onto Apple TV Plus drop by drop, these big-budget shows offer only a momentary reason to subscribe. Staying engaged is much more difficult. If I can reduce a monthly subscription, I'd be happy to do so. That's why a new sci-fi series like Foundation, the Isaac Asimov adaptation that Apple introduced during WWDC, only makes me passionate about the service. And this despite an incredible cast, including Jarred Harris and Lee Pace, and sources with great potential. Apple, however, seems to know how to build its platform for the long haul. A Bloomberg report from May suggests that it plans to acquire older TV shows, which is a massive missing piece for Apple TV Plus right now. The service is built entirely on the back of original shows like The Morning Show, See and Defending Jacob, and building an archive of them will take a long time. On the other hand, the recent launch of HBO Max had the opposite problem to Apple: the service has a very rich archive of popular old shows, but lacks original shows that deserve to be raved about. Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu have thrived because they have found a balance between the two approaches. Watching old shows offers great viewing comfort to a lot of people, but there are great new series out there. Apple has the wherewithal to offer both to subscribers, if they choose.

Upcoming attractions

You'll be surprised at how many cool things Apple TV Plus has in the works. The Foundation is very promising, but there are many more new shows and movies on the way, along with second seasons of shows like Mythic Quest and The Morning Show. Apple recently teamed up with Martin Scorsese to shoot his next shot, Killers of the Flower Moon with Leonardo DiCaprio, which is the biggest breakthrough of him to date in the world of cinema. Apple TV Plus also has a partnership with label A24 (think Lighthouse, Under the Moonlight, and Under the Skin), which will produce Sofia Coppola's upcoming film On the Rocks, as well as Sharper with Julianne Moore and a adaptation of the book The Heaven is everywhere. Apple is making a miniseries about actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr with Gal Gadot. He has also teamed up with Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd and Wet Hot American Summer director Michael Showalter to create a series called The Shrink Next Door. The children's series Fraggle Rock is even back on Apple TV Plus. Obviously, Apple is ready to go out with big names and big stars, which has largely followed the business model of the service since its launch. Still, it would be nice to see Apple make the kind of big gamble that Netflix did when it acquired the rights to Seinfeld, or Amazon Prime did by offering a nearly complete archive of Bond movies. No one expects Apple TV Plus to compare to a giant like HBO Max - it's a third of the price per month, for one thing, and it's other territory for the electronics giant. and more sense service is not a bad thing. The great originals must speak. But I still think it takes a lot more than that to really find its identity and for us to understand how it fits into our streaming TV service lifestyles.