Back in January, rumors were floating that Apple was looking into partnering with Hollywood creatives to produce original content similar to the way companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu do. Now we’re getting our first glimpse of what that programming will actually look like.
Apple has been involved in TV projects that tie in with Apple Music, and it seems the company is taking that angle in another direction as well. The company’s first original series will focus on the world of app developers, working with longtime TV executives Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens as well as entertainer and entrepreneur Will.i.am.
Related: The future of television is here. See the new Apple TV here
“We’ve been focused on a lot of content around Apple Music, video is a big part of it and we’ll do more of those [shows]. This was another opportunity right up our alley with apps,” Apple senior vice president of Internet software and services Eddy Cue told the New York Post. Cue had been rumored to be involved with the talks with Hollywood creatives back in January.
Part of the purpose of the show is to drive interest to the Apple App Store, as well as to continue to make inroads with Hollywood executives. Apple will distribute the series across its platforms, including iTunes, and this type of programming could eventually be included in the long-rumored live TV streaming service being pursued by the company.
“This doesn’t mean that we are going into a huge amount of movie production or TV production or anything like that,” Cue told the New York Times. He added that the company would continue to focus on exclusives that tie in with Apple’s various services and platforms.
This isn’t Apple’s first foray into streaming video. The company has invested in an autobiographical scripted series from Dr. Dre called Vital Signs, and recently announced it was working on a six-part series called The Score with Vice.
The difference here is that with the above projects, Apple has either been an investor or a partner. Cue didn’t go into the specifics of how involved Apple would be in the new series, but hinted that the company was fairly involved. “This is not us lending our name, it’s more than that,” he said.
