[shakermakr]

Surprised why so many people are surprised. Digital services and platforms are booming in this current climate. We have no choice but to be consuming content.

App downloads (30% thank you very much), Apple TV+ ($10 a month thank you very much), Apple Music...the list goes on. That list, apart from TV+ specials, is just revenue on the backs of other work. Others taking advantage of lockdown to product more content. Which makes these companies more and more without lifting a finger. And the Apple TV specials are short change. Just drive growth.

Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix, remote tools like Mural and Zoom, all these digital platforms offering consumer and business services are king right now. Ad supported services are booming, the Facebooks, Googles, because we’re consuming more ads.

It’s the cash cow of the 2010s and 2020s. Corona is only accelerating that.

[vbezhenar]

But ads are supposed to be paid back by customers buying real stuff. And if they won't buy real stuff because of crisis, it just means that ads budgets will be cut soon.

[beisner]

I wonder what fraction of consumption people who’ve been lost their income during the crisis is. If 20% of the workforce is laid off, does that mean consumption will go down 20%? Is the salary/spending power of the group who were laid off representative of the entire workforce? Or does it skew in a particular direction.

I ask because one explanation of the disconnect is that consumer spending in general hasn’t actually dropped that much, it’s just moved away from in-person small businesses.

[tonyedgecombe]

I know it's anecdotal but April was our lowest spending month for 20 years, despite having plenty of cash on hand.

You can't spend much when most shops are closed and visiting the ones that are open comes with quite a risk.

[RandallBrown]

Apple TV+ is only $5/month, but your point still stands.

[rexf]

Are they getting real income from Apple TV+? It launched Nov 2019 and they offered 1 year free (if you bought a qualifying device).

Anecdotally, I have 1 year of free TV+ and Apple TVs, but I don't use it to watch TV+ (watching Netflix, Youtube, etc. instead).

[rstupek]

If you have the free TV+ you should watch. Many of the shows have been really good in my opinion. Haven't watched one of the shows (besides See) that I didn't think were pretty well done.

[CSSer]

Could you throw out some names you liked? I tried See thinking it would be really good. I was unfortunately really disappointed and stopped watching after a little over halfway through the season. It diminished my faith in the platform because it was so heavily marketed.

Your comment makes me willing to give it another shot before my year is up.

[Austin_Conlon]

See, Truth Be Told, and Amazing Stories seem to be widely panned, and I haven't liked them either though I have yet to finish them. For All Mankind would probably resonate most with the HN community. I liked The Morning Show much more than I expected to, and it was a nuanced depiction of workplace power dynamics along with the behind the scenes of those types of shows. Little America is outstanding, the immigrant stories are authentic and multi-layered without being political. Servant is quite good, it's unsettling throughout and you have to pay close attention. Mythic Quest I found to be funny and entertaining, and people who work in game development say it points to underlying truths. People who I know personally are split on it, maybe if you like the Always Sunny in Philadelphia style then you'll like it more. Episode 5 of Mythic Quest comes out of left field and is in my opinion the single best episode on Apple TV+.

[steve_adams_86]

Likewise, See seemed like it had so much potential but I didn't enjoy it much. I stopped part way as well. Admittedly I watch some pretty awful TV sometimes, so perhaps it really was just disappointment that it didn't live up to expectations.

[RandallBrown]

For All Mankind is probably my favorite TV show of the last year or two.

[briandear]

The Beastie Boys docu, Ghostwriter (for kids) two quick examples..

[jiveturkey]

> Ad supported services are booming, the Facebooks, Googles, because we’re consuming more ads.

Ad revenue is flat YOY. That's normally death for these companies. In these times, it's positive relative to the market, but that's not what your assertion is.

[PunksATawnyFill]

It’s annoying that Apple is given a free pass on pushing media-centric devices and claiming that services are their future, but then making it HARDER for customers to consume those services, with offensive moves like deleting headphone jacks and reducing battery size.

[toast0]

Consuming more ads only helps ad-servers when there are enough ads to serve. A lot of big advertising categories (travel, cars, restaurants) are having a tough time and will likely cut their ad spending.

[filoleg]

Apple TV+, Apple Music, and Netflix revenues have nothing to do with ads.

EDIT: parent comment was significantly changed after I replied to it. Initially, it was saying that "Apple TV+, Apple Music, Netflix, and Microsoft" were having a tough time and that their ad-serving customers will likely have to cut their ad spending.

[toast0]

I didn't edit my comment, I was addressing my parent's comment (but didn't quote)

> Ad supported services are booming, the Facebooks, Googles, because we’re consuming more ads.

[filoleg]

Your comment was changed some time after I replied to it (I checked about an hour or two after, so I don't know the exact time it was changed). I think most people would consider it as being "edited".

[toast0]

I would agree that if my comment changed, it would be edited; however, I'm asserting that it was not changed -- it is how I wrote it originally. Perhaps you saw a similar comment that was edited?