COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW – 26/03/2019
Maya Kosoff
Yesterday, Apple gave a glimpse into how it plans to sink its teeth into the media business. Onstage in the Steve Jobs Theater, Apple unveiled a series of services from third parties onto which it will slap its own name and branding. Apple Arcade is a subscription service inside the App Store for third-party gaming apps. Apple Card is a shiny new titanium, laser-etched, Apple-branded credit card integrated into its Apple Pay mobile payments app. Apple TV Channels, Apple’s subscription video service, offers video content within its TV app, mainly selling video from channels like Starz and HBO. The company trotted out Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, and Steven Spielberg to talk about the original programming they’re creating for Apple. And Apple News+, its subscription news service, is replete with newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal and more than 200 magazines, with a $9.99-per-month price tag and free sharing with family accounts.