Apple executive Eddy Cue has flat out denied reports he and CEO Tim Cook are interfering with original content creators, in order to exert creative control over the shows coming to the Apple TV Plus subscription service.
Back in March, a New York Post report claimed Cook and other Apple bigwigs were “intrusive”, with sources claiming the boss was “giving notes” to producers working with Apple. Another said Cook was “giving feedback” when on the set of one original project.
One producer said Cook was looking to sanitise scripts by asking writers to stop being “so mean”. If true, it wouldn’t be a great look for those hoping Apple will let the top talent do their thing.
However, in an interview with GQ, Cue, the man who is overseeing the original content drive, called the report 100% false and assured potential Apple TV Plus subscribers that the programming will be free from interference from the top brass.
Related: Apple TV Plus show guide
“I saw the comments that myself and Tim were writing notes on the scripts and whatever,” says Cue. “There’s never been one note passed from us on scripts, that I can assure you. We leave the folks [alone] who know they’re doing.”
“I can assure you that was 100 per cent false. He didn’t say, ‘Don’t be so mean.’ He didn’t say anything about a script.”
The row comes as Apple itself goes into unfamiliar territory as a content creator. In the past, it has provided vessels for other people’s content to come to the fore, via iTunes, the App Store, Apple Music and soon the Apple TV Plus service, which will take on the likes of Netflix and Disney Plus.
The temptation must be strong for the company, which exerts so much control over the way it’s products are used and has such strong views on what content can appear via its portals, to leave those telltale Apple fingerprints all over these shows.
However, if Cue is to be believed, once the projects are commissioned, Apple is keeping its paws off the creative process.
Cue did say: “Ultimately trying to create shows for everyone. So we have shows that are dedicated to small kids. And we have shows that are dedicated to mature adults. So we’re going to do a lot of different shows and what we’re going to do is hopefully create the best shows on TV.”
Apparently, the Reese Witherspoon-Jennifer Aniston-Steve Carell vehicle The Morning Show isn’t appropriate because it has some naughty words, Cue said. However, we can’t see any Game of Thrones style gratuitous sex and violence invading Apple TV Plus.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
