Apple May Create Subscription Service Bundle That Includes Original TV Content, Apple Music and News

Apple may be planning to develop a single subscription service that would offer customers access to its original TV shows, Apple Music, and digital magazines, according to sources with knowledge of the company's plans that spoke to The Information.

Apple has ordered multiple television shows, ranging from comedies to dramas, but there has been no clear word on how these shows would be distributed.

tvapp
Its first original shows, "Planet of the Apps" and "Carpool Karaoke: The Series" debuted in Apple Music as a perk for Apple Music subscribers, but that would not likely be sustainable for the more than a dozen shows that are in development, so it makes sense that a wider TV offering is in the works.

According to The Information, Apple will begin by launching a digital news subscription service next year, which will combine the Apple News app with magazine subscription service Texture, which Apple purchased back in March. Bloomberg in April also said that Apple was working on such a service.

Texture offers subscribers unlimited access to more than 200 digital magazines for $9.99 per month, with titles that include People, Better Homes and Gardens, Time, Forbes, Condé Nast Traveler, Allure, Billboard, Town & Country, ELLE, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Vogue, and more.

Apple eventually plans to bundle the digital news subscription service with both Apple Music and the video content that is in the works, but it is not known when Apple will provide the new subscription offering, nor what it will be priced at.

Apple is said to be planning to continue to offer each of the services on a standalone basis, suggesting a standalone TV service as well, and discussions are still underway about what its subscription services will look like, so a bundle might not ultimately come to fruition.

It isn't clear if Apple would roll out some of its original programming for free initially and then bundle it with the other services, the people said. The discussions at Apple are still ongoing about what the subscription service ultimately will look like and could change, they said.

Prior rumors have suggested that the first of Apple's television shows will launch sometime between March 2019 and the summer of 2019, which would mean a TV subscription service would likely come out around that time.

Apple has previously attempted to build a television subscription service that offers shows and movies from third-party content providers, but it was never able to establish the deals necessary to make that happen. With its own slate of original TV shows, though, Apple does not need to rely on deals with content producers to roll out a streaming TV service.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Caution)

Top Rated Comments

iapplelove Avatar
75 months ago
Don’t care about news or magazines or even original content.

Let me stream everything iTunes has to offer for one monthly price.

Apple Music as well as movies and TV shows...that’s what I want.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarpalMac Avatar
75 months ago
Free marketing tip - don't lead with Carpool Karaoke.

You're welcome.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EdT Avatar
75 months ago
I'm not saying I think their shows are a waste of time but I don't see anything listed that I think is worth $5/month and it will probably cost more than that. Netflix has a broad range of shows, Amazon Prime we get because we live in the country and the free shipping eventually pays for the Prime service, and the rest of the subscription stations seem good when we watch at a friends house but when we ask how often they watch the channel its once or twice a week at most. Not worth it.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
elvisimprsntr Avatar
75 months ago
I already pay for free OTA TV through taxes and ads. Why would I pay for a service with likely biased news and content?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Glockworkorange Avatar
75 months ago
Most Pay TV shows on AMC, HBO and Netflix are appealing mainly to men.

Little Hulu had a hit with The Handmaids Tale that targets women and men.

Apple is targetting straight to women, and women are 50% of the population and are much less likely to pirate, in my opinion.
Sigh....more identity politics.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
farewelwilliams Avatar
75 months ago
this makes sense. one subscription for apple music, TV, and magazines would draw customers from Spotify/Netflix/Hulu/Amazon users. the last thing that they're missing is all-you-can-eat audiobooks/books

i think when Apple said their services revenue are going to double by 2020, it means that this service is going to launch pretty soon.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Camera Lozenge 2 Perspective Gray

Five Key Upgrades Coming to iPhone 16

Friday March 15, 2024 1:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone is Apple's top-selling product, and it gets an update every year. In 2024, we're expecting the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup, with an arguably more interesting feature set than we got with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Capture Button All four iPhone 16 models are set to get a whole new button, which will be...
When To Expect New iPads Feature 1

Apple to Announce New iPads on March 26, Rumors Claim

Monday March 18, 2024 4:02 am PDT by
Apple is widely expected to release new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models in the next few weeks. According to new rumors coming out of Asia, the company will announce its new iPads on Tuesday, March 26. Chinese leaker Instant Digital on Weibo this morning 日发布%23">claimed that the date will see some sort of announcement from Apple related to new iPads, but stopped short of calling it an...
airpods 3 orange

Two New AirPods 4 Models Expected to Launch in September or October

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:56 am PDT by
Apple suppliers will begin production of two new fourth-generation AirPods models in May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this production timeframe, he expects the headphones to be released in September or October. Gurman expects both fourth-generation AirPods models to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Expected to Depreciate Heavily

Tuesday March 12, 2024 9:04 am PDT by
Resale value trends suggest the iPhone SE 4 may not hold its value as well as Apple's flagship models, according to SellCell. According to the report, Apple's iPhone SE models have historically depreciated much more rapidly than the company's more premium offerings. The third-generation iPhone SE, which launched in March 2022, experienced a significant drop in resale value, losing 42.6%...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

iOS 17.4.1 Update for iPhone is Imminent

Monday March 18, 2024 5:27 am PDT by
iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 should be released within the next few days, with a build number of 21E235, according to a source with a proven track record. MacRumors previously reported that Apple was internally testing iOS 17.4.1. As a minor update for the iPhone, it will likely address software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. It is unclear if the update will include any other changes. ...
M3 iPad Feature 3

New iPads Likely to Begin Shipping in April

Monday March 18, 2024 9:52 am PDT by
Apple's new iPad Pro models with OLED displays will likely begin shipping to customers in April, according to information shared today by Ross Young, CEO of display industry research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman also said the new iPad Pro models might not ship until "deeper" into April in his Power On newsletter on Sunday:I've repeatedly said that new...
iOS 17 Passkey With Apple ACCOUNT Feature

'Apple ID' Expected to Change to 'Apple Account' Starting With iOS 18

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:13 am PDT by
MacRumors was first to report that Apple was planning to rebrand "Apple ID" to "Apple Account" across its software platforms and websites like iCloud.com as early as this year, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has corroborated this change. A mockup of the new Apple Account branding In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new "Apple Account" branding will start to be used later this...