Apple has invited media to a March 25 event at the Steve Jobs Theater on its campus in Cupertino, California, where it is expected to launch a television and video service.
Sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters that the service may resell subscriptions from CBS Corp, Viacom Inc and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp’s Starz among others, as well as Apple’s own original content.
Apple’s video hub will be similar to what Amazon offers through its Prime Video app. Amazon provides original TV shows along with options to subscribe to premium content through a Channels feature.
However, Netflix, the world’s dominant streaming service, will not make its TV shows and movies available through Apple’s upcoming video offering, Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings said on Monday.
Related: Apple expected to launch television and video service
“We prefer to let our customers watch our content on our service,” Hastings told reporters at the company’s offices in Hollywood. “We have chosen not to integrate with their service.”
In response to a question about how Netflix will compete with Apple and Amazon going forward, Hastings said the company will do so “with difficulty,” though he pointed out that Netflix has already been competing with Amazon for years.
“You do your best job when you have great competitors,” he said, before admitting that the increased competition has led to higher prices when sourcing content.
Edited by Neo Sesinye
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