Report: Apple TV+ to license films from more studios, bolstering catalog of originals

Earlier this year, Apple TV+ offered a collection of movies from other studios for a limited time. It turns out, that experiment was a success, as a new report indicates Apple is pursuing significantly more Hollywood deals for licensed movies to bolster the TV+ catalog.

Plans to license movies for Apple TV+

Lucas Shaw and Thomas Buckley report for Bloomberg:

Apple Inc. is having discussions about licensing more films from major Hollywood studios as it looks to bolster its Apple TV+ streaming service, people familiar with the matter said.

The iPhone maker has spoken to several of the largest studios about acquiring more programming from their libraries to offer customers both in the US and abroad, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private negotiations.

Apple’s spring run of offering limited-time movies ended June 30, and it was unclear whether that meant the experiment had been a failure for TV+.

Now, it seems that the company simply needed time to regroup ahead of pushing for an even larger collection of Hollywood film offerings moving forward.

It’s noteworthy that this report specifically highlights licensing films, and films only. It appears that Apple’s strategy for TV series is still to stick exclusively with originals. Perhaps that should be no surprise, as the streamer is doing pretty well for itself as its 72 Emmy nominations this year testify to.

Apple’s scattershot film strategy

With films, Apple has more of a mixed track record—it also produces far fewer movies than TV shows.

• TV+ has some big critical hits to boast, like Best Picture winning CODA, and strong contender Killers of the Flower Moon.
• It also has been home to the critical and box office failure, Argylle.
• The latest Apple release, Fly Me to the Moon, isn’t yet available on TV+ but it had a very disappointing box office debut.
• Next year Apple will release its first attempt at a summer blockbuster with the big-budget F1.
• Overall, the company’s film strategy has been scattershot and seems very much in flux still.

For all these reasons, it’s possible Apple has decided a better approach with movies is to license the majority of its offerings and be even more selective with original productions.