Tim Cook Says That Apple TV+ Won't Offer Syndicated Shows

Cook said at a shareholder meeting Wednesday that Apple's fledgling service will only offer original programming, unlike others in the streaming world.

Author:: Annie Gaus
Publish date:: Feb 26, 2020 3:44 PM EST

You won't find any reruns on Apple TV+, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

At a shareholder meeting on Wednesday, Cook said that "it doesn't feel like Apple" to offer reruns of popular syndicated shows, such as "Friends." Apple shares rose 2% on Wednesday to $293.85.

“We love ‘Friends.’ Who doesn’t love ‘Friends’? It’s not what Apple TV+ is about, it’s about original programming,” Cook said at the meeting.

Apple TV+ launched in November with a small slate of original shows, including "Morning Show," "See" and others, to a mixed critical response. Apple hasn't published any viewership stats for TV+, but is giving one year of the service away for free to buyers of Apple devices.

Apple's originals-only approach distinguishes it from most of its major competitors, such as Netflix (NFLX) - Get Report, which offers syndicated as well as original content. Others, like Disney's (DIS) - Get Report Disney+, rely on a mix of originals and library content owned by Disney.

Apple reportedly allocated $6 billion to the launch of Apple TV+. Ampere Analysis, a research firm, estimated that around 34 million people had signed up for Apple TV+ as of January.

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