Apple to enter the streaming TV race in early 2019

Apple is expected to launch its own subscription TV service in the first half of 2019 – and Australia is said to be one of the first 100 countries it will launch in.

Amazon Prime Video is in 200 countries while Netflix is in more than 190 countries.

According to a report on The Information website which spoke to three unnamed inside sources, it will start in the US and then roll out to the other 99.

The Information report suggests that the service will be free to users of Apple devices like the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, and users can sign up for TV network subscriptions owned by other companies.

Amazon Prime Video subscribers can do this through the Amazon Channels feature in the US, UK, Germany and Japan.

But Apple won’t be offered to users of non-Apple devices, even with a subscription.

That’s a different approach to its main rivals Netflix and Amazon which charges $9.99 a month for program access, and allow a wide range of devices.

Again, Apple’s strategy is one which has deep pockets.

It’s already proved that by hiring expensive experienced TV executives and expensive experienced celebrities as Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and M. Night Shyamalan and invested $1 billion in original programming.

Netflix is the definite market leader with 130 million subscribers around the world and that figure is forecast to double by 2023.

About 10 million of these are from Australia.