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Earlier this week, the Financial Times reported that Apple’s budget for its upcoming streaming service, Apple+, will be more than $6B — waaay higher than previous estimates of $1B.
So, how did production get so pricey?
Apple is paying plush premiums for super-celebrities
Apple’s new series, The Morning Show — which is not, in fact, an actual morning show but instead a show about a morning show — will feature Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell, and Jennifer Aniston in an effort to draw in new viewers.
Each of those big names will make $1.25m per episode — well more than 2x as much as the stars of Game of Thrones, the next most expensive show in history.
According to the Financial Times, every single episode of Apple’s The Morning Show will cost more than Game of Thrones’ no-expense-spared $15m finale.
For tech giants in media, original content is king…
And bigger is better.
Apple’s $6B budget follows the financial footsteps of media outsiders like Amazon and Netflix, who have respectively set aside $7B and $15B this year to produce original content.
These tech companies are focused on poaching viewers from other media, so they’re betting big bucks that big stars will bring big numbers of fans over to their new platforms.