Apple’s new CEO can save Apple TV ‣ Diverse Daily

In case you haven’t heard, Apple has a new CEO. In September, Tim Cook is being replaced by John Ternus, currently the senior VP for Hardware Engineering. He’s had his fingers on every modern Apple device, from AirPods through to iPhones and the Vision Pro. With his new job, though, he’s going to have to wear a few new hats, including that of a Hollywood mogul.

Ternus is reportedly a fan of Apple TV, but wants to make it more competitive with other streaming services out there. It’s not that the service is a failure — it’s just one of those subscriptions people only pay for when there’s something specific they want to watch, like a new season of Severance or Foundation. That’s a far cry from competing with Netflix, HBO Max, or even Prime Video. If Ternus is really serious about raising the stakes, here are a few of the ideas that should be on his desk.

Licensing more third-party content

Variety is the spice

Muad'Dib and Feyd-Rautha in Dune: Part Two.

One of the longest-running complaints about Apple TV is that Apple insists on populating it almost exclusively with first-party content. Sure, the company does occasionally pay to host movies as exclusives, and it has high-profile deals with F1 and Major League Soccer — but otherwise, you’re going to be watching original Apple TV shows all the time. Apple pursues this strategy to maintain maximum control over its library.

The problem with this approach is that it doesn’t reflect real-world viewing habits. No one sits down in front of their TV wondering what delights Apple, Amazon, or Paramount has produced for them. They’re either aiming to watch a specific movie or show, or they want a diversity of titles to browse through. In fact one of my biggest problems these days is that every company thinks they can win people over with exclusives, when in reality all it forces me to do is browse through multiple apps until I find something that piques my interest — whether or not I’m paying for the service already.

Frequently, of course, people want familiar favorites. They want Frasier, The Golden Girls, Twin Peaks, or Parks and Recreation. They want Terminator 2 or Steel Magnolias. Kids in particular tend to watch the same things over and over, and you’re only going to get so far when your only major highlights for them are Yo Gabba Gabba, Snoopy, and Fraggle Rock.

Do I think Ternus will actually push to license third-party movies and shows? It’s possible, but I doubt it. It would be a major deviation from Apple’s walled garden strategy. Still, Ternus might understand that while a closed ecosystem works for phones and smartwatches, it’s not so effective when customers pay month-to-month and can jump ship in a heartbeat.

Expanding live events beyond sports

More and better reasons to tune in

CHVRCHES playing a concert in Austin, Texas.

Sports are a powerful weapon for streaming and cable companies alike. Next to music, sports are probably the most popular form of entertainment worldwide, and its fans can be slavishly devoted not just to teams, but to individual players. There’s a reason the NFL can get away with charging hundreds of dollars for a Sunday Ticket package.

There are a few issues with Apple’s current strategy, beginning with the fact that F1 and Major League Soccer aren’t exactly headline sports in North America. They have loyal fanbases, but they’re not going to attract many new viewers when football, baseball, hockey, and even MMA are more popular. Also, most F1 races take place outside the US — the only dedicated American track is in Austin — and if MLS were as popular as the NFL, it would still have the problem of being seasonal. When the trophy is won, viewers aren’t going to stick around Apple TV unless they’ve become hooked on those original shows.

More importantly, perhaps, many viewers just don’t care that much about sports, including myself — which might sound a little ironic considering that my main hobby is weightlifting. So while exclusive live events can be a big pull, it may be time for Ternus to think about other things Apple could host, like concerts, stand-up comedy, or award shows. Speaking of Austin, I’d love it if Apple hosted some sort of equivalent of Austin City Limits, only live each week — imagine getting to see an exclusive gig by, say, Megan Thee Stallion or Angine de Poitrine. Apple likes to tout itself as a haven for lesser-known artists, and this would be a chance to put its money where its mouth is.

Playing nicer with third-party hardware

Acknowledging the outside world

Apple TV's Google Cast feature for Android.

Business-wise, Apple’s devices and services are meant to form a loop. That is, the devices work best if customers pay for Apple services, and vice versa. It’s another example of the walled garden. Sure, you can use an iPhone or Mac while relying on third-party services like Spotify or Google Drive, but you’ll miss out on the deep integration of Apple Music and iCloud Drive.

A streaming service can’t conquer the world, however, if the best version of it is limited to devices billions of people don’t have. The Android and Windows apps simply aren’t as polished as their Apple counterparts, and sometimes lack key functions. You can’t, for example, buy any movies or shows in the Android app when you’re not watching Apple TV, only access titles you’ve already paid for elsewhere. These clients are really just token portals into the Apple world, failing to exploit the platforms they’re hosted on.

Even when people do own Apple devices, it’s not an all-or-nothing proposition. While there are a number of Apple devices in my home, my main computer is a Windows PC, and my favorite gaming handheld isn’t my iPhone or iPad — it’s my Steam Deck. Heck, Apple doesn’t even make TVs, consoles, or smart displays (yet). I’m sure there are plenty of households like mine. And if you want people to fall in love with a streaming service, you have to ensure that it’s a great experience on every screen they have. You wouldn’t be happy with an EV if its self-driving features only worked properly in one or two neighborhoods.

Offer more fantasy, sci-fi, and war-themed shows

Throw more adult animation in while you’re at it

To Apple’s credit, it actually does have a decent number of sci-fi shows in its stable, some of which are well-liked, such as Severance, Foundation, Pluribus, and For All Mankind. But if you look at the service’s overall (adult) lineup, most of its shows seem to slot into modern-day comedies, dramas, and thrillers.

This one matters because it excludes a lot of audiences. Many people don’t want to come home from work and watch the exact same world they just left. They want escapism, or at least a more fantastic mirror of things. In my case, I simply prefer stories with bigger stakes and mind-expanding ideas. A series like Foundation invokes ideas like interstellar colonialism and whether it’s actually possible to predict the future — that’s a far cry from dramas about morning talk shows or inheriting a wine estate.

There’s a distinct absence of fantasy content that could go toe-to-toe with shows like Game of Thrones or The Sandman. For that matter, Apple hasn’t really dipped its toes deep into war stories or adult/teen animation. I know some people feel the company should be investing in anime, which isn’t usually my bag, but makes perfect business sense when I consider how many people I see wearing merch for shows like One Piece, Dragonball Z, and Attack on Titan.