Apple\u2019s plan to challenge Netflix and Amazon.com in the TV business just got a little bit clearer.<\/p>\n
The maker of the iPhone and iPad plans to release a remake of Steven Spielberg\u2019s science fiction anthology series \u201cAmazing Stories,\u2019\u2019 according to NBCUniversal, one of the TV companies working with the technology giant.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmazing Stories\u2019\u2019 would be the first original series Apple has agreed to finance since the world\u2019s most valuable technology company hired two Sony Corp. executives to shepherd its nascent efforts in TV production.<\/p>\n
After years of selling other companies\u2019 TV shows and movies in its iTunes store, Apple has taken the plunge into Hollywood and begun competing with those same companies for the rights to produce future TV series.<\/p>\n
The company has pledged to spend $1 billion on original productions next year, and hired Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht from Sony Pictures Television, the studio that made \u201cBreaking Bad\u2019\u2019 and \u201cThe Blacklist.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Van Amburg and Erlicht have since hired executives to oversee their future shows, and bid on a number of projects already on the market.<\/p>\n
Apple is paying $5 million an episode for \u201cAmazing Stories,\u201d according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported the deal for the show earlier Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The deal isn\u2019t officially complete, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love being at the forefront of Apple\u2019s investment in scripted programming, and can\u2019t think of a better property than Spielberg\u2019s beloved \u2018Amazing Stories\u2019 franchise,\u201d Jennifer Salke, president of NBC Entertainment, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
New Urgency<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s still unclear how Apple will release its shows – or when.\u00a0But selling media services has taken on a new urgency at the company as sales of iPhones have slowed.<\/p>\n Apple sells the Apple TV, a box that enables customers to watch an array of streaming services, like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.<\/p>\n And the company recently released its own app collating TV shows and movies from across the ever-growing constellation of streaming services.<\/p>\n Apple has also been buying original movies and TV shows for its music app, the second-largest paid music service in the world after Spotify.<\/p>\n Apple Music has released unscripted series \u201cPlanet of the Apps\u201d and \u201cCarpool Karaoke,\u201d and is about to release a documentary about music industry legend Clive Davis.<\/p>\n And for all the fuss about new services, Apple still operates iTunes, one of the largest online stores for movies and TV shows in the world.<\/p>\n
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