Are we about to see movies and TV shows made by Apple?
According to the Wall Street Journal – tech giants Apple are preparing for a major push into original video content - a move that could see them go head to head with Netflix and Amazon.
The California-based technology company is reportedly planning to include original video content with its Apple Music subscription service by the end of 2017.
It has apparently been talking to "veteran producers" about both original TV shows and movies. Apple has already shown some appetite for original video content after it bought the "Carpool Karaoke" TV series starring James Corden in July.
Netflix and Amazon Prime are two of the major players in on-demand video, and both have large libraries of original content. At least for now - Apple doesn't intend to try and match their libraries.
Instead, the company would hope for its smaller collection of content to aid Apple Music's battle against its archrival music-streaming service Spotify.
The move would also help to boost Apple's services business, an increasingly important area for the company after its iPhone sales slowdown in recent months.
Since the launch of its Apple Watch, Apple hasn't launched any significant new product. Tim Cook who became CEO in 2011, saw sales growth of iPhones slowing down ever since.
Subscription services offer Apple an opportunity to generate recurring revenue and to better monetize its existing user base.
Even if Apple isn't immediately seeking to go on full war with the likes of Netflix and Amazon, it would still be a development of concern to the two subscription services.
Apple enjoys enormous profits and has huge cash reserves - and is under increasing pressure to find new growth. If it develops the will to go all-in on original content, it has the resources to outspend anyone else in the market.
