Peter Kafka: What Apple’s got up its sleeve for Monday

“One thing Apple won’t do is unveil a serious competitor to Netflix, Hulu, Disney…”

From Apple’s plan for its new TV service, posted Thursday on Recode:

On Monday it will unveil its new video strategy, along with some of the new big-budget TV shows it is funding itself.

One thing Apple won’t do is unveil a serious competitor to Netflix, Hulu, Disney, or any other entertainment giant trying to sell streaming video subscriptions to consumers.

Instead, Apple’s main focus — at least for now — will be helping other people sell streaming video subscriptions and taking a cut of the transaction. Apple may also sell its own shows, at least as part of a bundle of other services. But for now, Apple’s original shows and movies should be considered very expensive giveaways, not the core product.

That is much less exciting than “Apple Takes on Netflix in the Streaming Wars,” but it is an accurate description. Even worse for people interested in exciting narratives: Apple has already been helping people sell video subscriptions and taking a cut of the transaction for years.

My take: Kafka’s usually right about this stuff. If there’s any wow Monday will come from the stars and their trailers.

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