 "Apple TV+ video streaming service to collaborate with Octavia Spencer, JJ Abrams, Jason Momoa, Oprah Winfrey")
With Hollywood stars galore, Apple unveiled its streaming video plans on 25 March, along with news and game subscription offerings as part of an effort to shift its focus to digital content and services to break free of its reliance on iPhone sales. Director Steven Spielberg, TV host Oprah Winfrey and Hollywood stars Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carrell made appearances at the event that brings Apple into direct competition with Netflix and the rest of the entertainment sector. Oprah Winfrey announces that she will team up with Apple TV+ on Twitter
I’m partnering with @tim_cook and @Apple to leave this world a little bit smarter, kinder, and better than we found it. Apple TV Plus launches this Fall. #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/14fkoi1sU7
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) March 25, 2019
Reese Witherspoon also announced her show at the event
Excited to announce my new @apple show at the #appleevent! The Morning Show ☀️ it reveals what happens in the fast-pacedworld of broadcast news. I star alongside Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell & many other talented cast members. Can’t wait for you all to see it! Coming this Fall! pic.twitter.com/T1ZtpjhnZl
— Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW) March 25, 2019
“We all want to be heard, but we also need to listen… to be able to harness our hopes and dreams and heal our divisions,” Winfrey told a packed audience in the Steve Jobs Theater on Apple’s campus in Silicon Valley. “That is why I have joined forces with Apple. The Apple platform allows me to do what I do, in whole new way.” The Apple TV+ service, an on-demand, ad-free subscription service, will launch this year in 100 countries, the company said. “We believe deeply in the power of creativity,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said. “Great stories can change the world. We feel we can contribute something important to our culture and to our society through great storytelling.” Apple revealed only a few of the programs to launch but announced it was working with celebrities on both sides of the camera including Octavia Spencer, JJ Abrams, Jason Momoa and M Night Shyamalan. The new content will be available on an upgraded Apple TV app, which will be on smart television sets and third-party platforms including Roku and Amazon’s Fire TV. Apple will also allow consumers to subscribe to third-party services like HBO and Starz from the same application. The cost of the service, along with financial deals with content creators, were not disclosed. Apple is aiming to leverage its position with some 900 people worldwide wo use at least one of its devices. But some suggested Apple’s path may be harder than anticipated. “I don’t want to know which famous people Apple has signed up. I want to know if the annual budget is $1bn or $10bn,” tweeted Benedict Evans, a Silicon Valley investor and blogger. “Getting audience for a TV platform is like orbital mechanics - the only way to go up is to burn more fuel.” While some view Apple’s move as a reinvention of the iconic company, analyst Richard Windsor said on his Radio Free Mobile blog that the video service “is very unlikely to ever be big enough to wean Apple off of its long addiction to selling hardware.” (With inputs from Agence France-Presse)
 "Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty")
 "Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched")
 "Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?")
 "Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House")
 "Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty")
 "Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched")
 "Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?")
 "Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House")
