Apple TV+ is over five years old, and besides its viral Ted Lasso moment, the streamer has struggled to gain mainstream traction until just recently. One producer who made a show for Apple thinks he knows why.
Apple’s marketing is ‘the best for iPhones, the worst for television’
Rafa Sales Ross at Variety recently interviewed TV producer Alex Berger, who made La Maison for Apple TV+. That partnership is apparently not one he intends to repeat.
“Marketing makes a show,” he emphasized. “Apple, for example, is probably the worst marketer in the universe — the best for iPhones, the worst for television. They don’t do marketing, and it was an issue for us with ‘La Maison.’ We did a great show that had an amazing success in France and other places in Europe, but they never promoted it. It drove me crazy.”
Asked why, while believing Apple TV+ to lack in marketing efforts, did he decide to take “La Maison” to the streamer, Berger said simply: “Hope. We had hope.”
“Apple TV+ had never done a show in France and never really done a show in Europe,” adds the producer. “‘Slow Horses’ started [things] in the U.K., but it was with the U.S.. I was hoping I would change them. We got very frustrated and just thought at one point that they were shooting themselves in the foot, and why?
Berger concludes, “these are shows that nobody will see most of the time, which is a pity.”
9to5Mac’s Take
Even though some of Berger’s words are hyperbolic, I’m completely sympathetic to his views.
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I'm working on an Apple TV+ show currently, and it's one of their big ones. Let me tell you they have more than halved their marketing budgets recently, as in the past 7 months - the brass up top has obviously stopped entertaining the Apple network as much more than a hobby project and they are trying to reign in the spending. The thing is, Netflix hemorrhaged money for their first 7 years before they became profitable, as most of these companies do, and with tv shows marketing spend is everything. No creators/talent is going to Apple TV+ for their subscriber count - netflix gets more views in a day than Apple does in a month - they go because the execs at Apple convinced everyone they supposedly care about marketing and giving your show a proper rollout. If they continue to be cheap they're just going to push talent away, plain and simple. They're already doing it on my show. The actors/producers are complaining.
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Before finding viral marketing success with Severance this year, I’ve found the Apple TV+ marketing very disappointing. Especially considering Apple’s strong track record with advertising its hardware products.
La Maison faced the additional challenge of being a French-language series, at the time one of the only non-English shows on the streamer. So it had an uphill battle already, making Apple’s marketing struggles even more of a problem.
What do you think of Apple’s TV+ marketing? Let us know in the comments.
Apple TV+ isavailable for $9.99 per monthand features hit TV shows and movies likeTed Lasso,Severance,The Morning Show,Silo, andShrinking. You can alsowatch free in several ways.
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