Peter Kafka, writing for re/code:
Industry executives say Apple has spent much of 2015 pushing for a “skinny” bundle of TV channels — limited to perhaps a dozen core networks — delivered over the Web, which would retail for no more than $30.
So while the price of the individual channels that Apple wants to package has been an issue, it’s the composition of the package itself — which channels go in and which don’t make the cut — that is just as important to both Apple and the programmers, according to sources.
If Apple gets its way, it means the traditional pay TV package, which averages around 100 channels, will get shrunk by nearly 80 percent. And while TV executives will say they understand that consumers don’t want to pay for channels they don’t watch, all of them will argue that their channels are must-haves.
It’s fascinating watching the brave new TV world unfold before our very eyes. We’re still very much in the “before” stage. But most of the pieces that will make up the future are starting to appear. There are the networks, the new content creators (HBO, Netflix, Amazon, etc.), the watch centers (places like Twitch, Periscope, etc., all designed for people to watch events over the net), and aggregators like YouTube, Hulu and, of course, Apple TV, just to name a few.
What’s not yet clear is how these pieces will be configured. Perhaps it will start as a free-for-all, a wild west of content with no discernible organization, where the only overarching TV guide is your search engine. But, I suspect, there will ultimately be a consolidation, an organizing mechanism that brings order to the chaos.
Interesting times.
These are the exact problems I was talking about when everyone thought Apple was going to make an HDTV. What’s wrong with the television industry can’t be fixed with a better screen, you have to fix the industry.
I would love to know what the dozen core networks are because the ones I heard mentioned aren’t the ones I’d want. I only need NBC, CBS, FOX for sports and I could get those over the air.
Then HBO, ESPN, etc. are add on’s for additional $$$?
I don’t see the benefit.
I’m past the idea of wanting to choose the networks I want and really just want to choose the SHOWS I want to pay for.
Im with ChuckO. I don’t like them, but to move me off Comcast I need 1) a comparable internet connection, 2) A core set of live streaming TV which for me is mostly sports, 3) Some way of watching scripted TV which I now get via Hulu for the most part.
I figured the talks would break down. Think about it Apple has not had much success dealing with bureaucratic media conglomerates since grabbing control from the music industry. No one is going to allow them to have that much sway again. They are swimming upstream.
+marcintosh is correct. The issues with media cannot be fixed with technology alone. I certainly haven’t wasted my time waiting.
Just clamoring for “change” doe snot discriminate between good and bad change.