What is Apple’s Planet of the Apps: A Guide
Apple has a game show aimed at app developers and it’s called Planet of the Apps. The show will be made available through Apple Music and the company recently published its first promotional clips.
What is Planet of the Apps?
Apple’s Planet of the Apps is a game show for developers.
How does it work?
Developers are given 60 seconds to pitch their app to four digitally experienced judges. They basically get as long as it takes to travel to the stage using an escalator — it’s an escalator pitch. (Perhaps they’ll have an elevator in series two). Here is the first promotional clip:
Who are the Judges?
The judges are Gary Vaynerchuk, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba, and the ubiquitous Will.i.am.
What happens next?
Once the developers pitch their idea the judges decide if they support it. Just like Dragon’s Den, if several judges want to work with a developer the developer can decide which judge to work with. The judge then works with the developer to get them the development, marketing and testing help they need to take their idea forward for the next stage.
The next stage
Finally, developers take their more developed idea to judges from Lightspeed Venture Partners. Apps developed during the show will be promoted on the App Store.
What’s the prize?
The top prize is $10 million to help get the app into the real world.
When can we watch the show?
The show begins in “Spring”, but there seems to be some speculation it may appear around Mobile World Congress, which kicks off at the end of February. Others think the show may debut with new Apple Music features around March.
Where can we watch it?
The show will be available in “most” countries on Apple Music, and also via….
The Planet of the Apps app
There will also be a Planet of the Apps app. If you don’t use Apple Music you’ll be able to use the app to watch episodes of the series ads-free as they are released.
Who produced the show?
The show is produced by Ben Silverman.
Will Apple buy Netflix?
Apple says it won’t “take a traditional route”. So probably not.
Is there a Website?
Of course! It’s www.planetoftheapps.com/.
There is another show
Carpool Karaoke — here’s a clip:
What has Apple said about original shows?
Apple iTunes chief, Eddy Cue, has said the following about the Apple’s plans for content creation:
“We think that video can be a very important part of Apple Music. It’s one of the differentiating factors that we can add.”
“We’re just starting out and we’re excited. We think these shows bring something to customers that haven’t been seen before, so there’s something unique, special that we’re bringing to the table. I think there are more ideas like that that we have, so we hope to continue doing more – and we’ll see.”
“Apple has a real opportunity in the TV space” but is interested in doing programmes that aren’t being done by anyone else – ones that take advantage of its platforms.
“We’re not taking the traditional route. This [Planet of the Apps] is a show that’s unlike anything that we see out there that we are able to add value to.”
Should you pitch your show to Apple?
Of course you should. “Carpool Karaoke is in a same vein, so the idea is that we do things that we add a certain value to. It’s not just going off the shelf and buying shows,” said Cue. Just make sure the ideas you do pitch have a good Apple edge. Though I don’t think ideas like Wisdom Of Steve Jobs, Design the Apple Way, or Inside the Apple University will get you a meeting.
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