Les Moonves, CEO of CBS, says that the company was in talks with Apple to be included in its still forthcoming cable-killing TV-subscription service — but that Apple has placed development of that service on hold.
I’m not sure what caused the company to put this hold. Perhaps they are making their services better before launching something so important. Whatever the reason, I’m really looking forward to it.
Despite having over three years to figure it out… the current AppleTV was obviously rushed out the door. Game’s are bottlenecked by Apple flip flopping on game controllers and the mandatory ridiculously limited bundled remote. The Apple remote App is only now available with the new device, and seems in capable of waking it from sleep. Apps are completely undiscoverable unless they’re featured in the store when you browse. There are no demos or even videos demonstrating what it is you’re potentially buying, so the problems that plague the iOS and Mac app store with users being afraid to invest in potential garbage are compounded on the AppleTV. Apps are stacked vertically and new ones go to the bottom of the screen. With a large app collection, management is a mess.
If Apple’s decided that they want to sit back and fix their system before going after TV content, I’m all for it.
I doubt they put their plans on hold for a system polish. The licensing clearly wasn’t working out in the price range they needed. Don’t read the delay as a sign that the problems you note are suddenly going to get fixed — or that they’ll be ignored either, for that matter.
It’s probably too hard for everyone to make money off this deal.
Fragmentation and cord cutting are generally seen as a good idea. Ultimately, we may find that a la carte is too expensive for many people.
As much as I would like to see an Apple streaming service, It’s better to get all streaming services on board with Apple TV than to create one of their own.
Interesting issue here for networks. Users can get them over the air, so there’s a bit less need. Also networks kind of suck. Might be better to go directly to production companies rather than networks (or cables). I kind of think this is a turning point for networks. They may have missed the last boat.
I usually don’t comment here, but I feel pretty strongly about this topic. Apple is giving the traditional content providers enough rope to hang themselves. The truth is, none of us really want a bundle. I shouldn’t have to get DisneyXD because I want ESPN. And perhaps I really only want 1-2 teams when they’re on ESPN and not the obscure sports daily on ESPN8 – The Ocho.
If couldn’t get the content providers to give up bundling, it was easier to call it off. Let the cord cutting trend continue, let Netflix and Amazon grow and continue to sell seasons and episodes thru iTunes until it sinks in to their fat skulls that the old bundling model is soon to be dead.
Higher margin, but lower volume SKU’s are going to be the key to survival. Continuing to ram content we don’t want to pay for down our throat flies in the face of long-tail economics.
The smart providers will offer affordable, discreet packages and pricing that make sense. The others will try to bloat. Apple is just waiting and letting them pick themselves off before sweeping in and simplifying the distribution and pricing for both sides of the transaction. It is what they do.