Apple is continuing to lure away Sony Pictures Television executives to fill out its growing video team.
According to Variety, Apple has hired Kim Rozenfeld, former head of current programming at Sony Pictures Television, to serve as head of current and lead executive in charge of documentary series development. Also joining Apple is Max Aronson and Ali Woodruff, both of whom will serve as development executives.
All three will report to Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, former heads of Sony Pictures Television who joined Apple in June.
“Jamie and Zack are two of the most talented TV executives in the world and have been instrumental in making this the golden age of television,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, in a statement. “We have exciting plans in store for customers and can’t wait for them to bring their expertise to Apple—there is much more to come.”
In addition to the new Sony executives joining the team, former WGN America head of publicity Rita Cooper Lee is also heading to Apple to run communications for the video team.
RELATED: Apple, Amazon in running to snatch up James Bond film rights: report
The accelerated hiring for Apple’s video team comes amid several reports that the company is gearing up to become a much more aggressive player in the video content space.
Apple is reportedly in the running to snatch up the James Bond film rights from under Warner Bros., which was considered the frontrunner to purchase those rights from MGM.
Apple has also reportedly set a whopping $1 billion budget for original programming in 2017. Of course, that amount of money is still far behind the massive budgets set by some competitors. Netflix is estimated to be spending $6 billion this year and Amazon is estimated to be spending $4.5 billion.