Apple TV+ tries to become the first US streamer in China

AppleInsider

Apple has reportedly been in talks with China Mobile about bringing both Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade to the country.

Apple TV+ cannot yet be watched in China

It's currently not possible to watch Apple TV+ shows in China, either via Apple itself or deals such as ones in France and India that bundle the service with other streamers. It's also not possible to get Netflix, Disney or any non-Chinese streamers in the country, although a limited number of individual shows or films are released via other firms.

According to The Information, however, in 2023, Apple began negotiating for its full Apple TV+ service to be provided in China via China Mobile. This firm has over 200 million broadband customers so already pay for various TV services via its Mobile HD set top box.

It's not clear whether the negotiations are continuing. However, it's believed that alongside Apple TV+, the deal could include bringing Apple Arcade to China too.

Neither Apple nor China Mobile have commented. But it's believed that China Mobile customers viewers would have the option to get Apple TV+ for a monthly fee, and that the revenue would in some way be split between the two companies.

In March 2024, Tim Cook visited China and said that the country remains vital to Apple. He was talking specifically about the manufacturing supply chain there and its importance to the iPhone.

But getting a service like Apple TV+ into the country would vastly expand its audience reach. It would also potentially come under criticism as US/China relations continue to be poor.

Apple has already been criticized for allegedly telling its Apple TV+ producers to not besmirch China. "The Problem with Jon Stewart" was reportedly cancelled partly because the comedy documentary wanted to feature China.

If Apple TV+ were offered by China Mobile, it would reportedly be solely via the firm's Mobile HD set top box. It's not clear, then, how or whether Chinese iPhone users would be able to watch.



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kkqd1337

Hey Siri, delete the words 'altruistic' and 'privacy' from company mission statement. 

daven

Hey, if it means increased stock price and dividends, I’m all for it.

radarthekat

kkqd1337 said:

Hey Siri, delete the words 'altruistic' and 'privacy' from company mission statement. 

But keep the phrase ‘engage to influence .’ 

longfang

kkqd1337 said:

Hey Siri, delete the words 'altruistic' and 'privacy' from company mission statement. 

Hey Siri, add overbearing self righteous xenophobe to kkqd1337’s profile description. 

gatorguy

radarthekat said:

kkqd1337 said:

Hey Siri, delete the words 'altruistic' and 'privacy' from company mission statement. 

But keep the phrase ‘engage to influence .’ 

How has Apple positively influenced China's policies so far? They've had a decade or three to do so.

Outside of China, they make a lot of noise about privacy and "protecting the user." Not a peep IN China or directed to China's leadership. Is there anything specific you can think of? Understanding the word "heel" is all the Apple engagement that's been obvious. Or even hinted at.

 So no, It's always about the money IMHO.

Anyway, AppleTV+ cannot be a streaming service in China despite the way this has been framed. Under Chinese law, Apple isn't allowed to operate their own video-streaming services in China. 

The best they can do is license some content, obviously very limited and select programming. China Mobile would never chance upsetting any Chinese authorities, nor would Apple (even in their US programming) so it would never be the "full Apple TV+ service" would it?

tmay

gatorguy said:

radarthekat said:

kkqd1337 said:

Hey Siri, delete the words 'altruistic' and 'privacy' from company mission statement. 

But keep the phrase ‘engage to influence .’ 

How has Apple positively influenced China's policies so far? They've had a decade or three to do so.

Outside of China, they make a lot of noise about privacy and "protecting the user." Not a peep IN China or directed to China's leadership. Is there anything specific you can think of? Understanding the word "heel" is all the Apple engagement that's been obvious. Or even hinted at.

 So no, It's always about the money IMHO.

Anyway, AppleTV+ cannot be a streaming service in China despite the way this has been framed. Under Chinese law, Apple isn't allowed to operate their own video-streaming services in China. 

The best they can do is license some content, obviously very limited and select programming. China Mobile would never chance upsetting any Chinese authorities, nor would Apple (even in their US programming) so it would never be the "full Apple TV+ service" would it?

Quite tone-deaf on Apple's part.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/04/business/china-internet-censorship.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&u2g=c&pvid=EF187633-9AE0-4EE4-8F87-8143A4D0361E&sgrp=c-cb

As China’s Internet Disappears, ‘We Lose Parts of Our Collective Memory’

The number of Chinese websites is shrinking and posts are being removed and censored, stoking fears about what happens when history is erased.

blastdoor

gatorguy said:

radarthekat said:

kkqd1337 said:

Hey Siri, delete the words 'altruistic' and 'privacy' from company mission statement. 

But keep the phrase ‘engage to influence .’ 

How has Apple positively influenced China's policies so far? They've had a decade or three to do so.

Exactly. In the fifty years or so after the end of WW2, there was a belief in the West that democracy inevitably followed capitalism. The experiences of Japan and Germany were the primary evidence in support of this argument. But with Russia and China, it flat out hasn't worked -- not even close. Why? Well... maybe it's because something else happened to Germany and Japan beyond adopting a Western economic model. Maybe it's because they were both totally defeated in a war that cost millions of lives and left them at the mercy of the victors, under occupation (however gentle) for decades. Funny how that little detail is omitted from the 'engage to influence' fantasy. 

Due to their nukes, it's highly unlikely that China and Russia will ever be beaten as thoroughly as Germany and Japan, which means any real changes will have to be the result of internal processes that outsiders likely cannot influence. The Cold War is back -- maybe it was an illusion to think that it ever went away -- and it's going to take decades, maybe a century or more, for the West to win it (if winning is even possible... which I think it is, but we can't take that for granted). 

tmay

blastdoor said:

gatorguy said:

radarthekat said:

kkqd1337 said:

Hey Siri, delete the words 'altruistic' and 'privacy' from company mission statement. 

But keep the phrase ‘engage to influence .’ 

How has Apple positively influenced China's policies so far? They've had a decade or three to do so.

Exactly. In the fifty years or so after the end of WW2, there was a belief in the West that democracy inevitably followed capitalism. The experiences of Japan and Germany were the primary evidence in support of this argument. But with Russia and China, it flat out hasn't worked -- not even close. Why? Well... maybe it's because something else happened to Germany and Japan beyond adopting a Western economic model. Maybe it's because they were both totally defeated in a war that cost millions of lives and left them at the mercy of the victors, under occupation (however gentle) for decades. Funny how that little detail is omitted from the 'engage to influence' fantasy. 

Due to their nukes, it's highly unlikely that China and Russia will ever be beaten as thoroughly as Germany and Japan, which means any real changes will have to be the result of internal processes that outsiders likely cannot influence. The Cold War is back -- maybe it was an illusion to think that it ever went away -- and it's going to take decades, maybe a century or more, for the West to win it (if winning is even possible... which I think it is, but we can't take that for granted). 

Good points.

Russia, sans Nuclear weapons, and a couple of cities, is a third world country, and if the West wasn't so timid, the war in Ukraine would have taken a more advantageous path.  That it isn't too late to allow Russia to lose its "special military operation" is true, though I'm aghast at the actions of some of the countries, and some of the companies, in the EU that are still "connected" to Russia.

As for China, Xi is the notable change that occurred in 2012, and it has been all downhill to authoritarianism in China since then. The difference in China is that they have built up a large, and notably, untested military, that threatens Taiwan, and others in the South China Sea. It should be a given that Apple extricates itself from China prior to that happening, but given the slow pace of "friend shoring" Apple's manufacturing operation out of China, I'm not confident that Apple will be able to accomplish that.

Should an invasion of China occur, and Apple's manufacturing operations are not, for the most part, withdrawn from China, I would expect that Apple would suffer losing half of its value overnight, just from sanctions imposed on China.

Still, China has settled into a bit of a chaotic economy, and its demographics will have a massive effect on its standing in the world, even without an invasion of Taiwan. All of that is on Xi.

blastdoor

tmay said:

blastdoor said:

gatorguy said:

radarthekat said:

kkqd1337 said:

Hey Siri, delete the words 'altruistic' and 'privacy' from company mission statement. 

But keep the phrase ‘engage to influence .’ 

How has Apple positively influenced China's policies so far? They've had a decade or three to do so.

Exactly. In the fifty years or so after the end of WW2, there was a belief in the West that democracy inevitably followed capitalism. The experiences of Japan and Germany were the primary evidence in support of this argument. But with Russia and China, it flat out hasn't worked -- not even close. Why? Well... maybe it's because something else happened to Germany and Japan beyond adopting a Western economic model. Maybe it's because they were both totally defeated in a war that cost millions of lives and left them at the mercy of the victors, under occupation (however gentle) for decades. Funny how that little detail is omitted from the 'engage to influence' fantasy. 

Due to their nukes, it's highly unlikely that China and Russia will ever be beaten as thoroughly as Germany and Japan, which means any real changes will have to be the result of internal processes that outsiders likely cannot influence. The Cold War is back -- maybe it was an illusion to think that it ever went away -- and it's going to take decades, maybe a century or more, for the West to win it (if winning is even possible... which I think it is, but we can't take that for granted). 

Good points.

Russia, sans Nuclear weapons, and a couple of cities, is a third world country, and if the West wasn't so timid, the war in Ukraine would have taken a more advantageous path.  That it isn't too late to allow Russia to lose its "special military operation" is true, though I'm aghast at the actions of some of the countries, and some of the companies, in the EU that are still "connected" to Russia.

As for China, Xi is the notable change that occurred in 2012, and it has been all downhill to authoritarianism in China since then. The difference in China is that they have built up a large, and notably, untested military, that threatens Taiwan, and others in the South China Sea. It should be a given that Apple extricates itself from China prior to that happening, but given the slow pace of "friend shoring" Apple's manufacturing operation out of China, I'm not confident that Apple will be able to accomplish that.

Should an invasion of China occur, and Apple's manufacturing operations are not, for the most part, withdrawn from China, I would expect that Apple would suffer losing half of its value overnight, just from sanctions imposed on China.

Still, China has settled into a bit of a chaotic economy, and its demographics will have a massive effect on its standing in the world, even without an invasion of Taiwan. All of that is on Xi.

Agreed on all points. I think McCain called Russia a gas station masquerading as a country, and that's largely true (except for the nukes). If the West fails to help Ukraine win that war it will be not just a moral failure, but a major strategic failure. Hopefully, though, it would also be a massive wake-up call. Europeans need to return to 1980-era level defense spending (so, about 3% of GDP in Germany). And all of the West needs to reinvigorate their industrial base. The US alone cannot out-produce the Chinese+Russians, but the US+Japan+EU definitely can, if they try.