The casting call issued on Tuesday by co-producers Propagate seeks app developers aged over 18 who are planning on making apps for Apple devices.

The unscripted programme will follow the search for what the Planet of the Apps website describes as “the next great app” with developers given guidance and priority access to the app store and venture capital funders.

Applications will be accepted until late August, with filming expected to start later this year and run into early 2017.

The iPhone maker announced earlier this year that it was working on its first piece of original content with musician and entrepreneur Will.i.am and TV producers Ben Silverman and Howard T Owen, the co-founders of Propagate.

At the time Apple software and services boss Eddy Cue said the company was not planning to move wholesale sale into film or TV making, and the project was designed to showcase the “great ideas that people had to build things and create things” for its App Store.

In a release published by tech blog 9to5Mac, Silverman and Owen said: “Over 2 million apps are available on the App Store, with new apps published every day.

“Planet of the Apps will give app creators the chance to break through and share their ideas with the world. This is an exciting format that taps into what is driving culture today. We can’t wait to see the groundbreaking ideas accepted for the show grow into viable businesses.”

Despite Apple’s insistence it does not want to get into TV or film production, it is in a strong position to do so. iTunes is one of the world’s largest content distribution platforms, with a far larger number of registered users – 800 million – than subscription services run by Amazon and Netflix, both of whom have invested heavily in original commissions.

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