Former HBO Chief Executive Strikes A Deal With Apple TV+ For Content Production

Cupertino-based technology giant Apple Inc. AAPL has struck a five-year deal with former HBO chief executive officer Richard Plepler to create original content for its subscription-based video on demand service TV+.

What Happened

As part of the deal, Plepler's new company Eden Productions will create exclusive television series, documentaries, and feature films for Apple TV+, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

Plepler left HBO February last year after spending nearly 28 years with the network. According to the Times, Plepler found his vision for the network was at odds with that of HBO's new parent company AT&T Inc.T.

The former HBO executive told the publication that he doesn't want to "run anything again," and simply stick to producing.

"All I want to do, and I mean this at the bottom of my heart, is run my own little PT boat. If I am successful at it as I hope I can be over the coming years, it will be more than enough work for me," Plepler told the Times, invoking the fast attack vessels employed by the U.S. Navy in World War II.

Why It Matters

Apple has been on the hunt for both original creators and partnerships with existing media companies to ramp up the TV+ service launched in November last year.

The consumer electronics maker is trying to establish itself in a market already dominated by rival Amazon.com Inc's AMZN Prime Video service and Netflix Inc. NFLX.

The Walt Disney Company DIS entered the arena with its Disney+ service around the same time as Apple in November.

Price Action

Apple's shares closed 2.28% higher at $300.35 on Thursday.