Apple on Tuesday kicked off its annual holiday season push by revealing more details about how it intends to make a splash in the streaming television market with its upcoming Apple TV+ subscription service.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the Apple TV+ will make its debut Nov. 1, with some original programming and other TV shows and movies. In a move meant to undercut its competitors and establish a foothold in the streaming TV market, the tech titan is charging only $4.99 a month for Apple TV+.
Among the original series Apple has teed up are "The Morning Show", a drama starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carrell that is set against the backdrop of a TV network's morning news show, and "For All Mankind", an alternate-history series about the space race in which the Soviet Union put a man on the Moon before the United States.
Cook said that with Apple TV+, Apple will be producing "Stories to believe in, (and) stories with purpose."
And in order to appeal to more potential customers, Cook also said that anyone who buys a new Apple product like an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV set-top box or Mac computer will get a free year of Apple TV+ service.
Apple's move into subscription-based streaming TV comes as the market is getting more crowded with rivals with deep vaults of content they already own, and years of experience in TV show and movie production. The most-notable being Disney, which will launch its Disney+ streaming service on Nov. 12 for $6.99 a month, and include access to Disney-owned titles from Marvel Studios and the library of "Star Wars" films.
