Apple Enters the Streaming Wars With Apple TV+ and TV Channels

Apple's video streaming service is finally here, and the company hopes it'll be the only entertainment destination you need. The tech giant pulled back the curtain on its two-pronged streaming strategy: a new TV Channels interface bundling other streaming apps and networks within its TV app, and an Apple TV+ service featuring a slew of star-studded original shows and movies.

Apple TV+ and Apple TV Channels will both be available this fall in over 100 countries within the new Apple TV app, which is coming in May as an iOS update. The Apple TV app is also coming to Mac for the first time this fall, and Apple will roll out its TV app to media streaming devices, including Roku and Amazon Fire TV, and smart TVs from Samsung, Sony, LG, and Vizio.

One thing we don't know yet is pricing. Apple declined to reveal pricing for the new ad-free Apple TV+ service, and did not confirm or deny reports that Apple's originals will be free for iOS users. The service will, however, come with Family Sharing.

What to Watch On Apple TV+

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The Apple TV+ reveal played out like a Hollywood awards show; the Steve Jobs Theater faded to black over and over again as actors, directors, and stars from Steven Spielberg and Reese Witherspoon to Jason Momoa, Steve Carell, and Big Bird appeared onstage to plug their new Apple original shows and movies. Sara Bareilles even hopped on the piano for a song before the grand finale: when Tim Cook brought out Oprah Winfrey to exclaim that once and for all, "APPPLLLLEEEE" is now a media and entertainment company.

After a promo video featuring the likes of JJ Abrams, Sofia Coppola, M. Night Shyamalan, Ron Howard, Damien Chazelle, and others talking about the filmmaking process, Steven Spielberg kicked things off with a presentation on his reimagined Amazing Stories anthology series. Apple also brought up a slew of other stars to talk about their projects:

• Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Steve Carell announced their morning cable talk show dramedy The Morning Show.
• Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard talked up See, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama set in a world where humans are blind.
• Kumail Nanjiani unveiled Little America, a new Apple anthology series he developed with his wife, writer Emily V. Gordon, to tell the stories of immigrants making it in America.
• Big Bird himself trotted out to talk about new episodes of Sesame Street coming to Apple.
• JJ Abrams and Sara Bareilles talked about Little Voices, a half-hour series about musicians in New York.
• Oprah closed things out with the announcement of two new documentaries—one on workplace harassment, and another on mental health, along with bringing Oprah's Book Club to life as a streaming series of some sort.

Apple's original content lineup also includes a sci-fi series from Battlestar Galactica showrunner Ron Moore; a psychological thriller series from Shyamalan; a drama series from La La Land and Whiplash director Damien Chazelle; a Sofia Coppola original film starring Bill Murray and Rashida Jones; a series with NBA star Kevin Durant; and projects with Hollywood stars including Richard Gere, Chris Evans, Brie Larson, and Jennifer Garner attached. Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi is also adapting Terry Gilliam's sci-fi/fantasy classic Time Bandits as a TV series for Apple.

The New Apple-Branded Content Hub

Apple has spent billions over the past few years prepping its much-hyped entry into the on-demand streaming market. Combined with its new Apple News+ service and Apple Arcade game subscription service, Apple has gone from aggregating content to creating, curating, and distributing it to every device with a screen. As iPhone sales stagnate, Apple's future growth is all about services.

The revamped Apple TV app with the new TV Channels interface looks a lot like any other streaming service. The May software update will add a Watch Now tab with the same library-style rows of movies and shows with preview cards. Tap on a card to play the trailer, see episodes, and more info.

Viewers can use Siri to search for what they want to watch, or check out "What to Watch" sections curated by Apple editors or the "For You" tab with personalized recommendations driven by machine learning. The redesigned Apple TV app will also have tabs for Movies (which can pull in any downloads from your iTunes catalog), TV shows, Sports, and Kids programming broken down into curated topics like "Outer Space Fun" and "Robot Friends."

Apple's new TV Channels service within the Apple TV app is launching with some big partners, including Amazon Prime Video, HBO, Hulu, Showtime, Starz, CBS All Access, and many others. Apple showcased Prime Video originals such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel multiple times during onstage demos.

Users can link or sign up for all of these streaming and cable TV services from within the Apple TV app, and Apple will reportedly take the same 30 percent cut on any streaming subscription purchased through its service as it does on paid apps in the App Store.

The TV app will be available to cable and satellite subscribers through Spectrum, DirecTV, and Optimum, as well as over-the-top (OTT) services including PlayStation Vue, FuboTV, and Hulu + Live TV.

The one streaming service that wasn't mentioned is Netflix, which confirmed it will not participate in Apple TV Channels. Without pricing and plan details, it's difficult to gauge Apple's offering compared to the rest of the growing field of streaming competitors. However, the company is starting out on a friendly foot with Prime Video and Hulu (which both offer their own subscription add-on services similar to TV Channels) and CBS, which owns both CBS All Access and Showtime.

Aside from the big red streaming elephant in the room, Apple will also be contending with new streaming services from a slew of media and entertainment conglomerates entering the fray in the next year. Disney, NBCUniversal, and WarnerMedia are all set to roll out their own standalone streaming services in 2019 and 2020, ramping up the war for original content as streaming players compete for a share of viewers' monthly entertainment budgets. Apple, for one, has more than enough cash to handle the arms race.

Check back for a whole lot more on this in "The New Entertainment Giants," our cover story on the streaming landscape publishing soon on PCMag.com

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.