Mark your calendars because 2019 is going to be the year of the streaming service. Between Disney Play, WarnerMedia’s impending streaming service, and Apple’s streaming service, things are looking to get more profitable for studios and networks and more expensive for you, the consumer — though on the bright side, we’ll be getting a lot more unique content, right?

We’ve known for some time that Apple was hard at work building up a catalog of content for their eventual service, but we weren’t sure when it would launch. Now, in a new report from The Information (via The Verge), it is stated that Apple will launch in the first half of last year. First, it will launch in the United States, and a few months after, it will launch in over 100 countries.

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This currently-unnamed service will feature original and third-party programming, and it will also give options to subscribe to packages from cable providers.

As stated previously, this service will be free for iOS owners, and based on the new report, it’s been confirmed that the service will pretty much bet the new home interface for Apple TV, so expect that to be laced throughout. Luckily, it doesn’t look like Apple will be nixing compatibility for native apps like Netflix and Amazon, which is something I feared.

As far as how much programming you’ll be getting, Apple has reportedly dedicated $1 billion to original content this year, so while it’s not Netflix big in its dedication, it’s not an insignificant amount. So far, we know we are getting shows from the likes of Damien Chazelle, M. Night Shyamalan, and Battlestar Galactica creator Ron Moore, so the talent being hired is pretty damn solid.

Will you be using Apple’s app? Let us know down below!

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SOURCE: The Verge