Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai is launching her own production company, Extra-Curricular, which will produce dramas, children’s series, and documentaries for Apple TV+. The programming is set to appeal to consumer demand for culturally-diverse and educationally-enriching content. We explore the insights behind this, and how the streaming wars are creating demand for different types of content.
To mark International Women’s Day, Apple Inc announced an expansion of its partnership with education activist Malala Yousafzai. Having previously worked with Yousafzai in 2015 on a documentary and supported her charity, Malala Fund, Apple is welcoming Yousafzai as a content creator on its streaming platform, Apple TV+.
The Nobel Prize winner is launching Extra-Curricular, a production company that produces a range of content, from animated children’s series to documentaries. “I hope that through this partnership, I will be able to bring new voices to this platform, to this stage,” says Yousafzai. “I hope that through me, more young people and girls will watch these shows, get inspired.”
As pandemic boredom set in, global online content consumption doubled in 2020. While the increased demand for digital media was good news for brands such as Apple TV+, the volume of streaming providers flooding the market made it difficult for platforms to differentiate their offerings.
As financial belts tighten and people cull streaming subscriptions, it appears that Apple is banking on high-profile partnerships for customer retention. Yousafzai joins the growing roster of content creators on AppleTV+, which includes Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Will Smith, Octavia Spencer, and Jennifer Aniston. Extra-Curricular’s focus on varied and culturally informative content is likely to appeal to people’s desires for a more edifying alternative to the usual binge-worthy fodder.
Lottie Hanwell is a behavioural analyst at Canvas8. She has a degree in English Literature and Spanish, and spends a lot of time thinking, researching and writing about developments in society and culture. On her weekends, she likes to run, read and make a mess in the kitchen.
