Apple is expected to announce new streaming services, a new subscription news service, and potential new hardware at a March 25 event.
The streaming service is poised to offer original Apple-produced content along with the option to sign up for other streaming services, including Starz, Showtime and HBO.
Apple has a March 15 deadline for signing with these providers, however, and the three are holding out for as long as possible to get the best deal. Nevertheless, it’s likely a deal will be signed, though it definitely won’t include streaming giants Netflix and Hulu.
The unveiling of Apple’s original content for the streaming service is reportedly going to be supported by appearances from J.J. Abrams, Jennifer Garner and Steve Carell. This new content is rumored to be composed of widely-enjoyable PG-rated TV series and movies, and it will be free to iPhone and iPad owners.
Apple is spending around $1 billion on creating its first round of original video content.
This new content will branch out significantly from “Carpool Karaoke,” as Apple is producing new series such as Time Bandits, a series-based revamp of the Terry Gilliam movie, an untitled memoir of a CIA agent, and an educational STEM-related Peanuts series.
The event will also likely feature a bundle subscription from “major news outlets in a single monthly plan,” according to CNBC. This concept derives from Texture, a now Apple-owned app that essentially bundles magazine subscriptions, charging the customer only for a single subscription to the app itself.
There is also the usual speculation about new product releases, such as a new iPad model or AirPods with wireless charging.
A MediaFile article published late last year speculated about the bundling of video-based streaming services, and it looks like Apple is one of the first to pull the trigger, adding in a news subscription bundle to round out the Apple universe.
However, despite the possibility of this new subscription, leading streaming services like Netflix and Hulu remain untouched by said bundles.