Apple Partners With Oprah Winfrey for Original Content Push

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. unveiled an original programming partnership with TV star and producer Oprah Winfrey, the iPhone maker’s biggest ally so far in a battle with Netflix Inc., Google and Amazon.com Inc. over the future of online video.

The company said the agreement with Winfrey is a multi-year content partnership in which the two will "create original programs that embrace her incomparable ability to connect with audiences around the world." The projects will be released as part of "a lineup of original content from Apple," the company added in a statement on Friday.

Apple didn’t say when the material will be released, or what form it will take -- whether that’s a classic Oprah-like talk show or content produced by Winfrey. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.

The Cupertino, California-based technology giant has been working on several TV show and movie deals for an online video initiative. It earlier struck agreements for shows produced by Steven Spielberg, another starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, and a drama series featuring basketball player Kevin Durant. On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that Apple is nearing a deal for a full-length animated movie.

The Winfrey partnership is the company’s highest-profile video tie-up to date. Once the host of the most-watched daytime talk show in the U.S., Winfrey has extended her influence across almost every sector of the media business. She is chief executive officer of OWN, a TV network she owns with Discovery Inc., a contributor to CBS’s weekly news magazine “60 Minutes” and an actress and producer of films and TV shows.

Technology giants Apple, Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Amazon and Netflix are vying to lure top Hollywood talent like Winfrey away from more-established entertainment companies, and draw viewers to their own digital services. Netflix has been the most aggressive, signing deals with U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy, and “Scandal” producer Shonda Rhimes. Amazon recently teamed up with “Get Out” filmmaker Jordan Peele.

While Netflix and Amazon have a history of producing hit shows, Apple is just getting started. The company plans to start rolling out its first original content videos in 2019, Bloomberg News recently reported.

Apple has been one of the biggest sellers of other companies’ shows and movies through its iTunes store, so it has existing ties to the entertainment business, mostly through executive Eddy Cue. While it faces stiff competition from Hollywood studios and big-spending digital streamers, Apple’s large reservoir of cash and the popularity of its devices have ensured the company can get a meeting with anyone in the entertainment business.

The iPhone maker has yet to tell its partners how it plans to distribute the new video content. While Netflix distributes its original content through its website and apps on all consumer devices, Apple has mostly kept its digital services wedded to the company’s iPhones, iPads, Macs and TV streaming box.

So far, beyond documentaries about musicians, Apple has released only two video series: "Carpool Karaoke" and "Planet of the Apps." Both are distributed through the Apple Music app, but the shows were commissioned before Apple hired TV industry veterans Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg last year to build an in-house studio. They got about $1 billion to spend in their first year.

To contact the reporters on this story: Mark Gurman in San Francisco at mgurman1@bloomberg.net;Lucas Shaw in Los Angeles at lshaw31@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net, Alistair Barr, Andrew Pollack

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