Four More TV Execs Join Apple's Video Content Team

Four additional veteran executives from the television industry are joining Apple's video content team, according to a new report from Variety.

Former head of current programming at Sony Pictures Kim Rozenfeld is joining Apple as its future head of programming and lead executive on documentary series development. Apple has thus far purchased several music-related documentaries that have aired on Apple Music, including Kygo: Stole the Show and Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A Bad Boy Story.

appletvos
Rozenfeld formerly worked with Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, two Sony Pictures Television executives who joined Apple in June to lead Apple's video programming efforts. Erlicht and Amburg have produced popular shows like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Crown, and more.

Two additional former Sony employees are joining the video team as development executives. Both Max Aronson and Ali Woodruff also worked with Amburg and Erlicht and will report to the duo at Apple. Aronson previously served as VP of drama development at Sony Pictures Television, while Woodruff was the director of creative affairs.

Rita Cooper Lee, who formerly worked as the WGN America head of publicity is joining Apple to lead communications for the video content unit, and she will report directly to Tom Neumayr. Lee is the second employee to join Apple from WGN America. Former president and general manager of WGN America Matt Cherniss joined Apple earlier in August to help oversee the development of the video unit.

Apple is picking up a lot of talent in the video and television area as it experiments with original content as a way to promote its Apple Music service. The company has launched two shows so far, including Planet of the Apps, a series about app developers pitching ideas to investors, and Carpool Karaoke, a music-based show developed from the Carpool Karaoke segment on The Late Late Show with James Corden.

While Apple's first two shows have been reality shows, the company is said to have bigger content ambitions, with rumors suggesting Apple is pursing deals with A-list talent to create a roster of shows on par with Netflix and Amazon.

Recent rumors suggest Apple is bidding on a "high-profile drama" starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon and aiming to get the film distribution rights for the James Bond film franchise.

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Apple Card iPhone 16 Pro Feature

Visa and American Express Vying to Win Apple Card Deal in 'Fierce' Fight

Tuesday April 1, 2025 1:50 pm PDT by
Visa wants to pay Apple approximately $100 million to be the new payment network for the Apple Card, reports The Wall Street Journal. As of right now, the Apple Card is on the Mastercard payment network, but that is set to change because Apple is ending its partnership with Goldman Sachs. Both American Express and Visa are vying to replace Mastercard as Apple's card services provider, while...

Top Rated Comments

AfroAbel Avatar
99 months ago
Apple should focus on updating their current products in a timely manner rather than wasting resources by delving into new markets. How many years has it been since the last Mac Pro and Mac Mini updates? Come on!
I'm sure those TV execs would have done great engineering new Macs...
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
miguelcoma Avatar
99 months ago
Here´s my problem with Apple getting into the content making:

Today's Apple is too vanilla, they would never make anything controversial or not light-hearted. They are too concerned about their image and trying to please all kinds of groups. And to make artful, meaningful content, you usually can´t have that. Can you see Apple producing movies or tv-shows with violence, nudity, drugs, or even strong language? I sure can´t :/
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
99 months ago
Remember back when we mostly had hardware and software rumors on this site? I remember people used to complain when iPhone came out that there were too many iPhone stories and not enough Mac stories. Little did they know how much more things would change in the future. At least the iPhone is a type of computer. Now we're subjected to entertainment news, political news, car news, and more. I'm not blaming MacRumors—I'm blaming Apple. What is the goal of this? Does Apple making movies improve people's lives any more than WB or Netflix making movies? Apple often says they enter new markets when it makes sense and they can add something to it. What are they adding? How does this enrich consumer experience? Why does Apple need to be in this space right now?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Williesleg Avatar
99 months ago
Really miss Steve Jobs.

Can we get one of his kids to run the show? The oldest has got to be almost ready.

I keep going into the Apple Store wishing there was something I'd like to buy.

Same with the App Store and iTunes (which is really hard to find stuff). Podcasts got hijacked by Youtube, no longer relevant. So sad.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Naraxus Avatar
99 months ago
The best thing they could do would be to shove Eddy Cue's ass out the door. The guy is incompetent at best and downright retarded at worst. He needs to go.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
somethingelsefl Avatar
99 months ago
Remember when NBC's Brian Williams interviewed Tim Cook and asked what keeps Apple from becoming what happened to Sony in late 90s?

Tim Cook replied Apple's "LASER-FOCUS" on only core products and software that they do best.

This sure seems like a lack of focus to me. At its worst.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)