Hollywood had questions. Apple did not answer them.

If the presentation was a novelty for Apple, she was familiar to members of the Los Angeles public. This is because they attended an initial presentation.

The so-called beginnings are a decades-old convention in the television industry. The networks feature them for advertisers in Manhattan, Carnegie Hall, Beacon Theater and Radio City Music Hall. The stars take the limelight to indulge in scripted jokes. The cadres give rah-rah speeches. The cleverly mounted clips raise the hope that new shows will not be ads. Musicians and comics offer breaks in action. Fall queues are introduced with a lot of fanfare.

Despite the disruptive effects that Apple promises to have on the entertainment industry, the company followed an old script on Monday. Mr Spielberg spoke of "Amazing Stories". Ms. Witherspoon and Ms. Aniston promoted their drama, "The Morning Show", and spoke with co-star Steve Carell. Writer, actor, producer and comedian Kumail Nanjiani played his anthology on immigrants, "Little America". The singer and composer Sara Bareilles, presented by Mr. Abrams, sits in front of a keyboard and sang the theme of the title of their musical series. "Small voice."

When Apple's entertainment executives, the former Sony studio, Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, came on the scene, the applause echoed as Hollywood applauded his. An overview of their work appeared in a one-hour, 43-second reel with snippets of upcoming programs. Apple has followed the old timeline favored by traditional broadcast networks by announcing that the shows "would come this fall."

A partial ovation greeted the celebrity saved for the last time: Mrs. Winfrey. "There has never been a moment like this," she said, echoing the prevailing hyperbole. She talked about two documentaries, one on sexual harassment at work, the other on mental health, and presented plans for what looked like a revival of the Oprah-enhanced reading club by Apple.

Mr. Cook was the closest show. He was walking in front of a black and white group portrait photographed by Mr. Streiber the night before. He was projected behind him, the size of a mural. "They had an impact on our culture, our society," Cook said of his topics, which he touted as "these incredibly passionate and award-winning artists."

The lights went out and members of the Hollywood group went out. The celebrities and the sizzling reels were not new to them, so they were talking more about the new credit card than anything else. Made of titanium, with rounded edges and no pesky figures to mark his face, he is likely to be an object of Beverly Hills status. They also talked about the card because the event had not relaxed their concerns about marketing, launch dates and the cost of streaming service for consumers.