After the departure of Apple Services VP Peter Stern, the Cupertino firm decided to split the division in three, with a new VP running each group. Today, Business Insider (via 9to5Mac) reports that Apple Music VP Oliver Schusser will be responsible for Apple TV Plus.
With that, Schusser will oversee the strategies and the streaming service roadmap from now on. Jamie Erlicht and Zack van Amburg will remain as co-heads of Worldwide Video Programming, which takes care of TV Plus’ original content offering.
The current Apple Music VP joined Apple in 2004. He was responsible for growing the iTunes business in Europe and then put in charge of the company’s music streaming service in 2018. He has launched product initiatives such as Apple Music Radio, Replay, and real-time lyrics features.
Business Insider says that Robert Kondrik, current VP of services product and design, will be named as the lead of another of these new Services units. The publication speculates that Adrian Perica, the current VP of corporate development, could be the third VP of this new division.
Apple hasn’t publicly announced anything yet, as all the names aren’t settled.
This week, it has been reported that Apple TV Plus is aiming for a new executive to lead ad sales for live sports and ad-supported TV Plus plans. After Netflix, HBO, and other streaming started doing so, there are speculations that Apple could launch an ad-tier version of its service as soon as this year.
Apple TV Plus currently costs $6.99 per month and is also available within all Apple One bundles. It offers unlimited 4K viewing for up to six family members with no ads (except for TV Plus Original shows teaser) or commercials.
A cheaper plan with ads could help Apple boost its subscribers as the company already has an award-winning catalog, but with fewer people watching.
