You'll soon come across Apple TV+ content on various platforms

Apple TV+ is not in a great financial shape, as it turns out. Apple is about to start licensing some of its Apple TV+ content elsewhere in an effort to save money and spread its reach.

The Cupertino giant has taken a notable step to expand its film business by hiring a seasoned executive, Maria Ines Rodriguez, to oversee licensing its original productions to third parties, a Bloomberg report reads. Rodriguez, who has previously worked with industry giants like Disney and NBCUniversal, joined Apple earlier this year.

According to an insider, cited by the report, the company's current focus is on licensing its films to foreign TV networks and digital stores for rentals and purchases. However, Apple has no immediate plans to extend this licensing strategy to its original TV shows.

This shift comes amid efforts by CEO Tim Cook and Eddy Cue, Apple’s head of services, to reduce Apple TV+ costs, improve its financial performance, and deliver more commercially successful productions.

Despite investing billions in critically acclaimed original content, Apple TV+ has struggled to attract a broad audience or generate profit. To address these challenges, the company has already begun selling TV+ subscriptions via Amazon and is now exploring licensing as another way to reach untapped audiences and generate additional revenue.

The practice of licensing content is well-established in Hollywood, where studios have historically sold rerun rights to television networks and other platforms. However, streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+ have traditionally kept their content exclusive to drive subscriptions.

This exclusivity is beginning to loosen as some major players in the industry, including Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, and Disney, have started licensing more of their titles. Even Amazon has begun sharing some of its shows and films with other platforms.