Apple’s Netflix rival reported to launch globally in 2019

It’s been three years since the Apple video service rumour mill started churning, but it looks like the Netflix rival will finally arrive next year.

The TV service, which is said to follow the Netflix and Amazon Prime Video model, will launch in the US in the first half of the next year, people familiar with the matter told The Information. A global rollout to more than 100 countries will supposedly follow in the next months. 

Earlier this month, CNBC reported that the service will combine original content and existing third-party subscription services. The service’s Apple-produced content will be free to Apple device owners, while the subscription ‘channels’ (such as HBO in the US) that sit next to it in Apple's TV app will allow users to subscribe to them.

It seems Netflix is already defending the forthcoming assault, having recently announced plans to raise $2 billion in debt to produce more original content in an effort to build subscriber growth and, of course, keep users happy.

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Becky Roberts

Becky is the managing editor of What Hi-Fi? and, since her recent move to Melbourne, also the editor of Australian Hi-Fi magazine. During her 10 years in the hi-fi industry, she has been fortunate enough to travel the world to report on the biggest and most exciting brands in hi-fi and consumer tech (and has had the jetlag and hangovers to remember them by). In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.