The race for content continues: Apple has announced a multi-year deal with famous talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
The agreement, which the Cupertino, Calif.-based company announced Friday, will add to Apple’s repertoire of original content expected as early as March, according to The Verge. The company has reportedly spent almost $1 billion on producing its own portfolio of programs, compared with the nearly $8 billion streaming-service Netflix is investing this year.
The content challenge from Apple and tech companies like Netflix and Amazon to media incumbents is spurring a wave of mergers like the $85.4 billion combination of AT&T and Time Warner that a federal judge approved this week.
The transaction, which the Justice Department had sought to block on anticompetitive grounds, will give AT&T control over Warner Bros.’ film studio and major cable-TV channels such as HBO and CNN.
The decision enabled cable-provider Comcast to challenge Walt Disney Co.’s offer for 21st Century Fox assets with a $65 billion all-cash bid. The acquisition would give Comcast control over Fox’s TV networks, movie studios, and ownership stakes in Sky, Hulu and others.
The European Commission, meanwhile, has approved Comcast’s $31 billion bid for Sky, the leading pay-TV provider in Austria, Germany and the United Kingdom. The offer is a counter to one from 21st Century Fox, which the commission has also signed off on unconditionally.
