New York Post

Apple in La La Land

Huge Tinseltown campus to boost vid content

- By ALEXANDRA STEIGRAD

Hooray for Hollywood! Apple is building a massive new campus in Los Angeles — a move that signals the tech giant’s growing Tinseltown ambitions.

The iPhone maker — behind hits like “Ted Lasso,” starring Jason Sudeikis and “The Morning Show” with Jennifer Anniston and Reese Witherspoo­n — is building a 550,000square-foot Los Angeles office complex that sprawls into neighborin­g Culver City. It will serve as the company’s headquarte­rs for the region.

The news leaked out over the summer that the Cupertino, Calif.-based company was looking for a new stomping ground as it amps up its entertainm­ent production for its streaming service AppleTV+.

Apple told Variety that the new LA campus will be a “mixed-use” facility, but it did not give details on what kind of production studio space will be part of the developmen­t.

It’s not clear if all or just some of the jobs at the facility will be related to production for its streaming service. Constructi­on is currently underway.

Apple did not provide an estimate for when the new buildings will be operationa­l.

“We’re in the early planning stages and will have more to share down the line,” the rep told Variety.

The iPhone-maker has slowly made a push into showbiz with the launch of its streaming service, AppleTV+, in 2019. Apple has since poured billions of dollars into shows like “Ted Lasso” and “The Morning Show,” in an attempt to catch rivals like Netflix and Disney, which have over 200 million and 100 million subscriber­s, respective­ly.

But the streaming service, which costs $4.99 a month, has a long way to go. According to the Internatio­nal Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Apple said it has less than 20 million subscriber­s. Apple did not comment.

Nonetheles­s, the company is cash rich and its new LA headquarte­rs could help it pump out shows faster in order to attract more subscriber­s.

As part of Apple’s pledge to create 20,000 new US jobs over the next five years, the company said in April that it expects to grow its Culver City headcount to more than 3,000 employees by 2026.

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