Yahoo Finance Apple (AAPL) Boosts Apple News Content With Popular Podcast
Apple AAPL is keeping no stone unturned to make Apple News a hit. The service has exciting news for sports fans with the return of the popular podcast After the Whistle with Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe for a second season. This podcast promises to bring complete coverage of the 2023 Women's World Cup tournament to listeners worldwide.
After the Whistle is hosted by Brendan Hunt, the actor and co-creator of the Emmy Award-winning Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso, and Rebecca Lowe, the host of NBC Sports' Premier League coverage for the past 10 seasons.
Apple is positioning After the Whistle as a must-listen podcast for soccer enthusiasts during the Women's World Cup. Apple News is leveraging its platform to promote the podcast. Users can listen to the trailer for the new season in Apple News and Apple Podcasts, and they can follow the show to stay up to date on every episode during the World Cup tournament.
This move is likely to attract a large and dedicated audience, which could translate into increased user engagement and potential advertising revenues for Apple. Moreover, this integration of podcast content within Apple's ecosystem enhances user experience and strengthens Apple's position as a leading provider of digital media and entertainment.
Quality Content Driving Apple TV+ Growth
Apple has been strengthening its footprint in the digital media and entertainment market through its streaming service, Apple TV+.
The streaming platform, despite having fewer subscribers than Netflix NFLX and Disney DIS, has been gaining recognition due to its impressive content portfolio that includes shows like Ted Lasso. Its animated movie The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film this year. Last year, Apple won three Academy Awards for CODA.
Apple Inc. Price and Consensus
Apple Inc. price-consensus-chart | Apple Inc. Quote
Apple’s impressive run at the Academy Awards has been instrumental in driving recognition of Apple TV+ in the saturated streaming market currently dominated by the likes of Amazon AMZN, Netflix and Disney+.
Apple TV+ is also expanding into different genres, like live sports.
Growing Services Revenues to Aid Growth
The growing popularity of Apple TV+ as well as services like Apple News and Fitness+ have been beneficial for Apple’s Services business, which has become a major revenue-generating source in recent times.
The Services portfolio currently has more than 975 million paid subscribers and accounted for 22% of sales in the fiscal second quarter. Services revenues increased 5.5% from the year-ago quarter to $20.77 billion.
Upcoming new features like – Listen with family and friends using Collaborative Playlists, Apple Music Sing experience with Continuity Camera, addition of the SharePlay feature to car, the ability to stream the entire catalog of Apple Music radio shows on Apple Podcasts, browsing offline maps with just a tap using Apple Maps, daily crosswords with Puzzles on Apple News, audio stories from Apple News+ on Apple Podcasts and several others – are expected to boost service segment growth.
For the fiscal third quarter, Services’ revenue growth is expected to be similar to the March quarter. Apple expects services to be negatively impacted by challenging macroeconomic conditions, as well as weakness in digital advertising and mobile gaming.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter fiscal 2023 revenues for the Services segment is pegged at $20.79 billion, indicating 6.05% year-over-year growth.
Apple shares have outperformed the Zacks Computer and Technology sector and Disney year to date. However, it has underperformed both Netflix and Amazon. AAPL shares have gained 45.2%, Amazon, Netflix and Disney have returned 51.3%, 49.8% and 1.4%, respectively, while the sector has grown 35.6%.
This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company expects the June quarter’s (fiscal third) year-over-year revenue growth to be similar to that of the March quarter due to unfavorable forex. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Apple’s fiscal third-quarter earnings has increased by a couple of cents to $1.20 per share over the past 30 days. The consensus estimate for revenues are pegged at $81.11 billion, indicating a 2.23% year-over-year decline.
Disclaimer: This article has been written with the assistance of Generative AI. However, the author has reviewed, revised, supplemented, and rewritten parts of this content to ensure its originality and the precision of the incorporated information.
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