March 26 (UPI) — Apple CEO Tim Cook announced a new video-streaming service, a news subscription plan — and an Apple credit card — Monday at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.
The streaming service, called Apple TV Channels, will offer content from cable channels such as HBO, Showtime and Starz. Users are already able to access such channels through apps on the Apple TV streaming device, but the new plan brings it to Apple computers and mobile devices, as well as smart TVs and streaming devices like Roku and Amazon Fire.
“For some of us, the big bundle is more than we need, so we designed a new TV experience where you can pay for only the channels you want all in one app,” Apple Vice President of Services Peter Stern said. “Watch everything on-demand and ad-free.”
The company also announced Apple TV+, a streaming service providing original content similar to some of the movies and television series produced by Netflix and Amazon. That will be released in a May software update.
Inaugural original content for Apple will include a Steven Spielberg reboot of the “Amazing Stories” series, a series called “The Morning Show” and an anthology series about immigrants called “Little America.”
Apple has been trying to break into the television and the video content business since Cook took over in 2011, following the ambitions of company’s founder Steve Jobs. Since then, though, Netflix and others have moved the goalposts on streaming services.
The new Apple Card, in partnership with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard, will be available in the wallet app, as well as a physical card. The firm says it will not carry late fees, annual fees, international fees or penalty interest rates and will offer cash-back rewards. It will be available in the United States this summer.
In addition to entertainment content, Apple launched a service Monday called Apple News Service, a $9.99 subscription giving users access to more than 300 magazines and newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal. Included in the service will be The New Yorker, Esquire, The Atlantic, National Geographic and Rolling Stone.
