Apple sticking to family-friendly video efforts to avoid offense from viewers

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Apple's original content efforts for its long-rumored video streaming project will consist of programming without excessive violence, sex, or political elements, a new report claims, under the belief that the company stands to lose more from users being offended and not buying Apple devices as a result of what they view.




Apple is taking a different approach for its slate of original programming than its competitors, in that the content must not affect its "pristine brand image," reports the Wall Street Journal. After spiking the Dr. Dre scripted TV show 'Vital Signs' for being too violent, the company has apparently made it clear to producers and agents that its shows must be high-quality, but relatively family friendly.

This differs greatly from the original production catalogs of other platforms, such as HBO's 'Game of Thrones' and 'Westworld,' or Netflix's 'House of Cards' and 'Orange is the New Black." The platforms are known for having edgier content compared to normal broadcast television, which they capitalize on regularly.

News of the conservative approach surfaced last year, with a report claiming Apple executives did not want kids "catching a stray nipple." The latest report suggests this may be an attempt to prevent the content from causing an issue with the company's other revenue streams.

Former NBC and Fox programming executive Preston Beckman suggests Apple is extremely exposed if it produced risky content, due to being a consumer product company. While on objection to content on Netflix may lose the service a subscriber, Beckman notes "With Apple, you can say, 'I'm going to punish them by not buying their phone or computer."

The need to keep content safe for all has contributed to delays inits release, agents and producers suggest, with it postponed twice and currently anticipated for launch in March. However, one producer working on some Apple projects believes the final launch date could be pushed back even further into the future.

Apple is said to be spending around $1 billion on the original content push, and could easily spend more to start more productions or to acquire rights for more shows. Most recently, it picked up the straight-to-series 'Defending Jacob,' starring Chris Evans and based on a novel by William Landay.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 48
    Thank you Apple for doing this. I appreciate it.
    andrewj5790sirozhaZooMigo
  • Reply 2 of 48
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    I don’t really care as long as it’s good. 


    andrewj5790kozchrisbb-15StrangeDays
  • Reply 3 of 48
    It works for Disney.
    StrangeDayscornchip
  • Reply 4 of 48
    Then they should prepare to lose the streaming wars. People that want squeaky-clean will have Disney’s streaming service. Nobody else is going to pay for bleached content. 
    unbeliever2davgregcanukstormkozchristyler82jbdragondarkvader
  • Reply 5 of 48
    Then they should prepare to lose the streaming wars. People that want squeaky-clean will have Disney’s streaming service. Nobody else is going to pay for bleached content. 

    Maybe Apple doesn't really care about the "streaming wars" as you call it. Just because you can't see sexual or hear inappropriate language in a show doesn't mean someone can't make good content. You don't need swearing and sex to make good content. 
    gilly017racerhomie3bb-15tenchi211StrangeDaysZooMigo
  • Reply 6 of 48
    macxpress said:
    Then they should prepare to lose the streaming wars. People that want squeaky-clean will have Disney’s streaming service. Nobody else is going to pay for bleached content. 

    Maybe Apple doesn't really care about the "streaming wars" as you call it. Just because you can't see sexual or hear inappropriate language in a show doesn't mean someone can't make good content. You don't need swearing and sex to make good content. 
    I couldn’t agree more. "Bones' which I’m binge watching again is an example of a very successful show that stayed clear of nudity and excessive violence, and actually had a good run. No skin necessary. 
    bb-15
  • Reply 7 of 48
    1. Disney has shown, not just nipples, but, no shit, full-frontal nudity in one of their movies. a. What's the title of the movie. b. What's the name of the actress in question? 2. In the immortal (paraphrased) words of Robin WIlliams: "You have to remember that America was founded by the Puritans - people so uptight that even the Brits couldn't stand them and kicked them out."
    racerhomie3darkvader
  • Reply 8 of 48
    Then they should prepare to lose the streaming wars. People that want squeaky-clean will have Disney’s streaming service. Nobody else is going to pay for bleached content. 
    The problem is that in the US, only movies that have sex and violence sell well. In Europe, there are actually excellent movies that have been made for many decades that have no sex or violence. They are just good stories and great acting. Not the stupid crap that comes out of Hollywood most of the time. 

    There is plenty of soft porn and violence on any streaming service already. I commend Apple and Tim Cook for this. It's a very rare occasion when I actually praise Tim Cook. 
    racerhomie3
  • Reply 9 of 48
    davgregdavgreg Posts: 1,036member
    The Hip-Hop audio they stream is more offensive than anything on HBO, Showtime or Netflix.

    Apple should get out of- and stay out of- content.
    robbyxredraider11kozchris
  • Reply 10 of 48
    davgregdavgreg Posts: 1,036member
    sirozha said:
     In Europe, there are actually excellent movies that have been made for many decades that have no sex or violence. They are just good stories and great acting. Not the stupid crap that comes out of Hollywood most of the time. 
    No, in Europe, the nudity is in OTA TV commercials and content.
    I used to live in Germany and saw it years ago. 

    Americans are so hung up on their bodies. Go to a spa and watch the Americans try not to stare.
    darkvader
  • Reply 11 of 48
    badmonkbadmonk Posts: 1,285member
    As an Apple investor, high-priest and fan-boy, I am concerned.  To make high quality media requires courage and a willness to push the envelope.

    Disney is the lone-exception to this rule, but their craft is heavily scripted, produced and massaged over long periods of time.  That sounds like Apple but it is much much more difficult to do durable sanitized media well.
    kozchrisjbdragon
  • Reply 12 of 48
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    badmonk said:
    As an Apple investor, high-priest and fan-boy, I am concerned.  To make high quality media requires courage and a willness to push the envelope.
    If you think nudity and violence is the only way to push the envelope then you need to see better movies. 
    bb-15StrangeDaysracerhomie3
  • Reply 13 of 48
    badmonk said:
    As an Apple investor, high-priest and fan-boy, I am concerned.  To make high quality media requires courage and a willness to push the envelope.

    Disney is the lone-exception to this rule, but their craft is heavily scripted, produced and massaged over long periods of time.  That sounds like Apple but it is much much more difficult to do durable sanitized media well.
    I think everyone here saying “it works for Disney” doesn’t know anything about Disney. They release tons of content with violence and nudity under their other brands. Touchstone Pictures. Dimension Film, which releases an endless stream of slasher movies, was owned by Disney until recently. Their old Hollywood Pictures brand released numerous violent horror and action films. They used to own Miramax. Etc. 

    Disney is one of the biggest distributors of violent content and nudity in film. 
    kozchriscornchipracerhomie3darkvader
  • Reply 14 of 48
    Rayz2016 said:
    badmonk said:
    As an Apple investor, high-priest and fan-boy, I am concerned.  To make high quality media requires courage and a willness to push the envelope.
    If you think nudity and violence is the only way to push the envelope then you need to see better movies. 
    Nudity and violence are part of life. They aren’t required to push the envelope, but they are often part of good story telling. Apple has become such a nanny. Writers and directors should be able to tell their stories without some big nanny company censoring their art.  If Apple demands boring, safe, offensive to no one content, very few people are going to want to work with them and even fewer are going to subscribe to whatever service they offer. 
    kozchrisdarkvader
  • Reply 15 of 48
    macxpress said:
    Then they should prepare to lose the streaming wars. People that want squeaky-clean will have Disney’s streaming service. Nobody else is going to pay for bleached content. 

    Maybe Apple doesn't really care about the "streaming wars" as you call it. Just because you can't see sexual or hear inappropriate language in a show doesn't mean someone can't make good content. You don't need swearing and sex to make good content. 
    Then it should stop wasting $1+ billion dollars and not make original content if they're not serious about it.  And if they are serious about it then the senior execs need to get out of the way and let the creative directors do what they do best and allow them the freedom to make content that reflects all of life and the includes the dark sides of life.
    kozchrisdarkvader
  • Reply 16 of 48
    stsk said:
    1. Disney has shown, not just nipples, but, no shit, full-frontal nudity in one of their movies. a. What's the title of the movie. b. What's the name of the actress in question? 2. In the immortal (paraphrased) words of Robin WIlliams: "You have to remember that America was founded by the Puritans - people so uptight that even the Brits couldn't stand them and kicked them out."
    "You have to remember that America was founded by the Puritans - people so uptight that even the Brits couldn't stand them and kicked them out."

    Describes Tim Cook
  • Reply 17 of 48
    davgreg said:
    The Hip-Hop audio they stream is more offensive than anything on HBO, Showtime or Netflix.

    Apple should get out of- and stay out of- content.
    Apple are total hypocrites. They are happy to peddle sexist, violent, misogynistic, and homophobic audio content on Apple Music all day long. Not to mention all the violent video games in the App Store...

    But heaven forbid one of their upcoming snooze fest TV shows has a little bit of violence or shows a boob. 

    I ageee. They should not get into content. Build great devices. Write great software. Stay focused. Unfortunately that’s not Apple anymore. 
    edited September 2018 kozchrisdarkvader
  • Reply 18 of 48
    bb-15bb-15 Posts: 283member
    davgreg said:
    The Hip-Hop audio they stream is more offensive than anything on HBO, Showtime or Netflix.

    Apple should get out of- and stay out of- content.
    A strawman argument. 
    - There is a difference between producing content and having a streaming platform which distributes content produced by other companies/studios. 
    - Apple Music right now is a streaming platform which distributes other company’s/studio’s music content. 
    - Apple TV has software which distributes video content produced by other companies/studios. 

    * What is new in this article is that Apple will be producing its own video content. 
    - That is the difference from all the other content Apple has distributed before. 
    - Apple will be making its own content and will become a movie / TV studio. 
    - To claim that content made by other companies is = to Apple creating content is a strawman. 
    edited September 2018 racerhomie3
  • Reply 19 of 48
    bb-15 said:
    davgreg said:
    The Hip-Hop audio they stream is more offensive than anything on HBO, Showtime or Netflix.

    Apple should get out of- and stay out of- content.
    A strawman argument. 
    - There is a difference between producing content and having a streaming platform which distributes content produced by other companies/studios. 
    - Apple Music right now is a streaming platform which distributes other company’s/studio’s music content. 
    - Apple TV has software which distributes video content produced by other companies/studios. 

    * What is new in this article is that Apple will be producing its own video content. 
    - That is the difference from all the other content Apple has distributed before. 
    - Apple will be making its own content and will become a movie / TV studio. 
    - To claim that content made by other companies is = to Apple creating content is a strawman. 
    It's not a straw man argument at all.  While you are correct that there is a big difference between producing and distributing, in the end Apple has still decided to allow violent, misogynistic, and homophobic music to be part of their platform, which seems incredibly hypocritical given all of their social justice causes and commitment to not produce violent and risque content.  We're not talking about third party apps available via Apple TV.  That's different, I agree.  But you're trying to give them an out when it comes to Apple Music and they don't deserve it.  Bottom line is, they know Apple Music would fail miserably if they stuck to their supposed principals and didn't allow hateful, violent, homophobic, and misogynist content on the service.  In the end they are free to produce whatever they want, but let's be real.  They are total hypocrites.
    edited September 2018 canukstorm
  • Reply 20 of 48
    I think this is great! Companies taking the initiative to be moral and family friendly (high road) without being pressured into it. For so long blood and guts and sex have been a necessary content for successful media content creation. it is nice to see Apple going in the other direction. My fear is that the American public is so accustomed to sex, violence and gore that it will take Apple several seasons to ween enough thoughtful viewers off the SV&G. Some of us can and do watch violent and sex infused media but can also just as easily watch (and prefer to watch) media that makes one think without the visceral violence and sex... (god forbid we actually use our brains during entertainment).
    Someone motioned Bones as an example of good TV. I agree with this except that Bones contributed to the "clean ending" phenomena. where all is right and clean at the end. The real world is not like this. Sometimes the good guys get it wrong regardless of their morals or viewpoint and it is never gets cleaned up!
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