Peter Stern, VP Services for Apple, speaks during an Apple special event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California, U.S., March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Stephen Lam
(Reuters) – Apple Inc is planning to show feature-length films in theaters before releasing them on its streaming TV service, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the plans.
Apple plans to launch its streaming service called Apple TV+ on Nov. 1 for $5 a month to compete with rivals such as Netflix Inc and Walt Disney’s upcoming streaming offering, Disney+. Both the rivals have deeper libraries and years of experience in making hit shows.
Sofia Coppola’s “On the Rocks,” produced in partnership with A24 movie studio, will be among Apple’s first major theatrical releases and the company is eyeing a mid-2020 release, according to the report here
Apple last year inked here a multi-year deal with A24, the studio behind Oscar-winning projects “Moonlight” and “Amy.”
Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel