Apple in Content Talks With Owner of Fremantle, Co-Producer of American Idol and Other Reality Shows

RTL Group, the largest broadcasting and production company in Europe, has confirmed a potential content partnership with Apple.

fremantle
"Discussions with new OTT platforms such as Apple are also being held," said RTL Group CEO Bert Habets, speaking on the company's earnings call today, according to Deadline. OTT is short for over-the-top media services and presumably refers to Apple's widely expected streaming video service.

RTL Group owns Fremantle, which co-produces reality series and game shows such as American Idol, America's Got Talent, The Price is Right, and Family Feud in the United States. It is unclear if any of these series would be distributed on Apple's video service or if a partnership would focus solely on original content.

Apple is expected to unveil its video platform at its March 25 event at Steve Jobs Theater. The company already has dozens of original TV shows and movies lined up for the service, including an unnamed morning show drama starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell.

Multiple reports indicate that Apple plans to launch the video service by April or May, with a rollout to more than 100 countries expected by the end of the year. A subscription format is expected, but pricing remains a question mark.

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's Upcoming Macs Listed in New Report

Thursday July 3, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
AppleInsider's Marko Zivkovic today shared a list of alleged identifiers for future Mac models, which should roll out over the next year or so. The report does not reveal anything too surprising, but it does serve as further evidence that Apple is seemingly working on new models of every Mac, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

TheShadowKnows! Avatar
82 months ago
"RTL Group owns Fremantle ('https://www.fremantle.com/our-shows/'), which co-produces reality series and game shows such as American Idol, America's Got Talent, The Price is Right, and Family Feud in the United States."

Reality shows::= The end of reasoned civilization as we know it.
Game shows::= Dumb and dumber.

Just my view.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
e-coli Avatar
82 months ago
Glad to see Apple has their finger on the pulse…of 2005.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nvmls Avatar
82 months ago
Blow-away pipeline, Tim warned us.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Marco Klobas Avatar
82 months ago
The Price is Right and Apple are a tough match. :)

Seriously, I don't think game shows will be streamed. The rumored talks are probably focused on other TV contents.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lone Deranger Avatar
82 months ago
Honestly, I hope this will fail.
This MUST fail, at all costs!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Khedron Avatar
82 months ago
Courageous content
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)