Netflix Will Not Be Coming to Apple TV
Netflix has confirmed that it will not be added to Apple’s new streaming video service that will be launched later this month.
Reed Hastings, CEO of Neflix Inc made the announcement at a press event on Hollywood output on Monday when he took questions from international journalists about Apple TV.
“We want people to watch our content on our service.” He boldly proclaimed. “We have chosen not to integrate into their service.”
While Apple plans to launch its streaming service, charting new waters for technology and Hollywood, it would be relying on third-party contents from HBO, Starz, and Showtime to fill up its digital library.
When prodded on how the streaming competition would affect Netflix, Hasting said:
“There are a lot of new competitors. It’s very exciting. Amazon is spending $4 to $5 billion on content. We spend about twice that. But the reality is they’ve been in the business for a long time, and we compete with all kinds of entertainment time already.
Sometimes we think of YouTube as a great partner because we advertise there and our content is there. But sometimes we think of them as a competitor. That’s how it is with everyone. It used to be, we had to beat HBO. In the U.S., we’ve grown tremendously and yet HBO has also grown. HBO has grown from 30 million to about 42 million. So, you can see that our success doesn’t determine their success.”
He, however, noted that it was becoming more expensive to source content as the streaming market has become fragmented over time.
When asked whether Netflix would soon be showcasing live TV or sports, Hastings revealed that the streaming had no plans for that. He also disclosed that there were no plans on advertising, either.
This is not the first time Netflix had shunned integration on Apple’s products. In recent times, Netflix stopped Apple users from subscribing through the App Store billing feature, eliminating the 30% cut that usually went to Apple.
