HN Explorer

Does anyone ever think about why Apple is involved in creating TV Series?

1 points by OnuRC ↗ HN
I know Apple has been part of entertainment media in last decades with ipod and such. But the "why" part of how a great hardware company like Apple, produces Tv Shows so we get distracted enough is like a lot more dystopian if anyone thinks about it.

Following this, in this decade Nvidia will produce or acquire a company that creates in house AI movies, I mean why not?

19 comments

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slater
Orrrrr they didn't want to rely on/have to pay the exorbitant costs that 3rd-party (e.g. the incumbent studios) would be charging...?
OnuRC
Yes but at core it's tech company? Disney and a lot of other streaming services created by Hollywood make sense, even thou business models are not profitable recently. Without good 3rd party content, it can take a decade or more to create a good library and still that's not enough IMO.
slater
And we were led to believe Google is a search engine, when it's actually an ad company with a passable search engine side-gig.

I'd say Apple has changed to being a content company that just so happens to make actually good devices (as long as you don't fall into the "hurrrr apple bad!" trap).

Apple's been at it for ~5 years now re: Apple+ series, and they're not all must-see blockbusters, but getting better.

hollerith
Apple's mission is not to move civilization forward like you seem to think, but rather to maximize shareholder value.
OnuRC
Yeah for that subscription service for tv-series and movies seems really great way to increase value. As we see with Disney+ etc how profitable it really is.
meepmorp
My guess is that they believe it will make them more money.
throw9away6
To build the Apple TV product and let me tell you the quality of content blows away Hulu or some of the other low tier services
OnuRC
It always starts like that, but once it scales to 1000 or more producers and directors, we get Netflix type quality content in 2023. Great movies and tv-series are really rare.
throw9away6
It’s not for lack of money though just Netflix chooses poorly and has no long term vision. Apple TV Is the new HBO. While Netflix originals barely make it past season 1
dagmx
Imho Netflix doesn’t choose poorly. They have a lot of crap because a lot of people like that stuff.

Check out how popular stuff like 90 day fiance is , or how Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 was Sony’s biggest hit the year it came out.

We equate quality with being desirable for consumption, but media is so subjective and I’d hazard the vast vast majority of people have a lot of guilty pleasure trash shows they watch regularly.

Netflix knows this so has a lot of crumminess amongst its great shows to reflect exactly what their numbers show them.

harrisonpage
How is "entertainment company produces entertainment" dystopian?
samstave
You do know that Steve Jobs bought the DeathStar Rendering System from Lucas' ILM back in the day because Lucas wasn't sure about running it, and Jobs bought it and started PIXAR.

He was there a lot during the rise of PIXAR - which effectively brought animated movies to the level they are today.

So, yeah - "Apple" DNA has been making entertainment for decades.

-

Source: was a designer for the Lucas Presidio Campus - which is where ILM, LucasArts and LucasFilm consolidated (skywalker sound and big rock stayed where they are)

(then they wanted to build out animation studios in Singapore... dont know if they did though.)

dagmx
They did open Lucasfilm Singapore and did quite a bit of work there over the years, including the ill fated Strange Magic.

Coincidentally, they just announced last week that they’re shutting it down.

hititncommitit
I haven’t. However, publicly held companies will general have quarterly / yearly reports [0] that would provide, I imagine, some insight into that decision.

It will almost certainly tell you they did so to generate income, but you might find some answers as to just how and why they think this will help them generate income from this activity.

I’m sorry I don’t have an answer, but I hope this resource can point you in the right direction (and I apologise if this is obvious to you- it isn’t to everyone).

0. https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=320193&owner=exclude

theRealMe
It’s not dystopian. You are thinking up a conspiracy based on absolutely nothing, when a far simpler and more obvious answer exists(that they decided it would make them more money), and then calling it dystopian. You’re basically saying “here’s a crazy idea that could potentially have been a motivation. Isn’t it crazy that they did that?!?” Let’s try a couple more using your own thought process:

“McDonalds could have added child play places so that poor children would get exercise and be physically fit enough to join the military when they turn 18. Isn’t that dystopian?”

“Home builders might build homes with wood in order to remove natural resources from the planet to make Earth less of a target for alien invasion. Isn’t that dystopian?”

“Baskin Robins might have been created to make me fat. How dare they? Isn’t that dystopian?”

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