4 thoughts on “The dysfunctional entertainment industry Apple TV has to deal with”

1. How is it dysfunctional to sell your content to the highest bidder, which is what the entertainment industry has always done? How is a rights holder moving forward by selling their rights to Apple or any other suitor for less than someone else will pay? If Apple puts a better deal on the table, they can get any rights they want.

2. The movie and TV industries aren’t desperate enough yet. But they may eventually be. There needs to be some kind of major disruption before they’ll cave like the music industry caved to Apple and iTunes. And I think that disruption will come from a pure internet-only content provider. They’ll make tons of money, they’ll be cheaper than cable / satellite, and they won’t be constrained by network production rules.

   Other internet-only players will follow, they’ll all be available on iTunes, and the legacy TV / movie dinosaurs will be forced to sign contracts with Apple. Because it’s what the cool (and profitable) kids will be doing.

3. I’ve said it before, Apple should just buy a major content producer such as Disney (who owns ABC, Pixar, ESPN, Marvel, Lucasfilm, etc.) and then they’ll have a huge amount of content. They could immediately start offering great digital content at reasonable prices. If it becomes hugely popular (i.e. disrupts the status quo) then other content providers will eventually have to cave into the Apple system. It’s an extreme long shot, but I don’t know of any other way for Apple to break in to providing premium digital content at good prices. The established players just aren’t likely to allow it.

4. Agreed. Money is the bull that can ram through changes. The industry is both locked down and Balkanized. Apple needs to spend some cash. It’s the only way to break this stalemate.