On Friday, Apple TV + streaming service, offering users exclusive content, began work in more than 100 countries. Due to its own video service, the corporation expects to enter the market, where Netflix, Amazon and other large platforms currently operate.

Apple executives thought about creating a streaming service in 2016. Sony Pictures Television's Jamie Ehrlicht and Zac van Amburg of the WGN America cable channel, Matt Cherniss, Amazon Studios executive Morgan Wendell, and other significant filmmakers were hired to develop the project.

Initially, the budget of Apple TV + amounted to $ 1 billion. However, by 2019 the cost of the service doubled, and by August 2019, The Financial Times noted, amounted to about $ 6 billion. The increase in expenses was also associated with the production of the most anticipated series of the platform - “Morning Show” ".

According to the publication, the development of a multi-series show with Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell cost the corporation a fabulous sum: one episode spent more than $ 15 million - this is more than the cost of the HBO channel for the production of the latest episodes of Game of Thrones. However, the executive producer of the show denied this data.

The first issue of The Morning Show appeared on Apple TV + on the day the platform launched, along with seven other original projects. Among them is the post-apocalyptic series “See” with Jason Momoa in the title role and the show “For the Sake of All Mankind” about an alternative history of space exploration.

  • "See"
  • © Apple

The service also offers to watch the black comedy “Dickinson” about the history of growing up and searching for the gender (and sexual) identity of the American poetess Emily Dickinson, a remake of the 1990s children's series “Ghost Messages”, as well as animation projects for children “Snoopy in Space” and “ Helpers. "

A monthly subscription to Apple TV + will cost users $ 4.99. Russians will be able to pay for the use of original content only 199 rubles a month, but so far without Russian dubbing.

Battle for the viewer: new players

On November 12, another online platform, Disney +, will join the streaming services. It will feature Pixar, Marvel and National Geographic products, host the Star Wars universe and 30 Simpsons seasons from 20th Century Fox. The service will be available on Smart TV, computers, smartphones, tablets and game consoles.

On the launch day of Disney +, the premiere of Mandalorians, the first in-game movie series in the world of Star Wars, is scheduled. Exclusive mini-series from Marvel - "Falcon and Winter Soldier", "WandaVision" and "What if?" - Will appear on the service in 2020-2021. It is expected that the service will also see a remake of the classic cartoon "Lady and the Tramp" and the documentary project "The World through the Eyes of Jeff Goldblum".

It is not yet clear when Disney + will enter the Russian market, nor is there a launch date for the UK. To date, broadcasting has been confirmed to the USA, Canada, the Netherlands, and - from November 19 - to Australia and New Zealand.

The cost of subscribing to the platform will be $ 6.99 per month (approximately 448 rubles). Those who wish to purchase an annual subscription will have to pay about 4.5 thousand rubles.

Viewing content on another upcoming similar service, HBO Max from WarnerMedia, will cost $ 15 - as well as a subscription fee for the TV channel (and for those who watch HBO on TV, access will be free). The project starts in May 2020.

  • © Shot from the series “Gossip Girl” (2007)

It is planned that upon launch, HBO Max subscribers will have access to 10 thousand hours of content, including the series Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Sex and the City, and, of course, Game of Thrones.

To these shows will be added 1800 full-length films - all DC tapes and films that WarnerMedia will release in 2020, as well as original products of the service. Among them - the animated series for children Little Ellen ("Little Ellen") from the TV presenter Ellen Degeneres and the sequel "Gossips."

Russian market

More and more often, Russian video services not only broadcast translated foreign or domestic content, but also produce original projects.

So, in the fall of 2017, START began work - the first video service in Russia with content (series and films) of its own production. In his library - more than ten original items. According to the company, "including frank and bold projects that will not be shown on TV."

Among the original projects of the START video service are the series “The Containers”, “Former”, “Storm” and others. Content is available in browsers, applications on mobile devices and through SMART TV. The cost of a single monthly subscription for all the products presented is 299 rubles.

In August 2018, the launch of the PREMIER OTT platform (in the past - TNT-Premier) took place. From that moment, in addition to the content previously broadcast by several television channels, including TNT, TV-3, TNT4, 2x2 and Super, PREMIER presented several original projects exclusively for subscribers to the service.

Furor made the series “House Arrest”, which received several prestigious profile awards and many references to the media. The project of Zhora Kryzhovnikov “Call DiCaprio!” With Alexander Petrov and Andrei Burkovsky in the lead roles was also popular. A number of critics considered him the best domestic TV series of 2018. Later, the service released the noir Dead Lake with Evgeny Tsyganov, Sect with Svetlana Khodchenkova, the series TEACHER and BIHEPPI.

A basic subscription to PREMIER costs 129 rubles. per month, access to the service is also possible through a browser, mobile applications and SMART TV.

  • © Shot from the series “House Arrest” (2018)

In September 2019, the National Media Group media holding launched the more.tv online platform, which, as noted in the company, has the largest library of television content on the market from major Russian television channels.

Having issued a single subscription (299 rubles per month), users get access to the premieres of Russian TV shows before their broadcast on television, original content from the more originals line, foreign news (for example, “Attraction” with Mario Casas or “The Prodigal Son” with Michael Sheen ) and UFC sports events.

In the line of more originals the youth drama “Difficult teenagers” is already presented, in the future the release of the projects “Chiki” with Irina Gorbacheva, “Psycho” by Fyodor Bondarchuk, Happy End Roman Prygunov and others is expected.

When asked about possible competition from Apple TV + and Disney +, more.tv emphasized that they were not afraid to lose their audience.

“In the current stage of market development, this helps to shape the segment and culture to pay for content consumption. Therefore, foreign players only help us. It should also be noted that services are launched primarily with American content, which is more localized for the local market, both in terms of the interface itself and in terms of voice localization. And most importantly, 70-80% of all video consumption in Russia is local content created in Russia, and these players do not have it, ”says Denis Gorshkov, CEO of more.tv.