Will Apple TV ever turn a profit?

About this episode

Despite producing critically acclaimed shows like Severance, Slow Horses, and The Morning Show, Apple TV remains one of the smallest players in the streaming industry. It also reportedly loses billions of dollars a year, which raises an interesting question: Does Apple actually care whether its streaming service turns a profit? Or is the company perfectly happy to subsidize expensive Hollywood productions if they help sell more iPhones and drive subscriptions to its broader services ecosystem? And if Apple does want to become a serious competitor to Netflix and Amazon, what would it need to change about its business strategy? To help answer these questions, I invited back Jason Krebs, a media industry veteran who's held senior roles at The New York Times, Google, and Disney. We discussed why Apple has been so reluctant to embrace advertising, whether its limited content library is holding back subscriber growth, and how its investments in live sports might fit into its long-term ambitions. We also talked about the growing number of traditional media companies launching newsletters on Substack. Once viewed primarily as a platform for independent journalists looking to escape leg