Apple has been turned down in a bidding war for exclusive content rights for their Apple TV+ service by JJ Abrams.
JJ Abrams is a renowned creator of popular series such as Westworld, Alias and Lost. His most recent work was a 2009 film reboot of Star Trek. It was rumored that the bidding went up to $500 million dollars, but in the end the director turned down the offer and went to WarnerMedia.
The contract JJ Abrams made with WarnerMedia was $250 million for five years. In the end, it was all about risks and benefits. Abrams’ signing with Apple would mean he had to create content that would be exclusive to Apple TV+, thereby limiting the audience.
WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey mentioned that he offered Abrams intellectual property rights and gave the director freedom on choosing his distribution model, which cinched the deal.
