Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Pushing Ahead with Plans for Subscription TV Service by Christmas?

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,441
30,644



The New York Post reports that Apple is pressing ahead with plans to launch its own streaming television service by the end of the year, despite continued resistance from content providers.
For months, Apple's point man, Eddie Cue, has been leading talks with content providers, which have largely balked at the tech giant's efforts to exert control over all aspects of the video service, including pricing, sources said.

Apple's negotiating stance can be summed up as "we decide the price, we decide what content," according to one source familiar with the talks.

"They want everything for nothing," said another media executive, echoing similar tense negotiations Apple has had in the past with magazine publishers and music companies.
Click to expand...
The report claims that Apple is interested in offering entire channels as apps that could be used on a number of the company's devices, including the Apple TV set-top box and presumably a potential Apple-branded television set. The report's sources are, however, unclear on whether Apple is seeking to bundle multiple app channels together to form its own equivalent of cable television packages or if it wants to offer them individually to subscribers.

apple_tv_favorite_tv_shows-500x336.jpg
Sources also indicate that Apple has tried with no success to convince cable companies to adopt Apple hardware for their own set-top boxes, with Apple providing sleek hardware and software to deliver content to existing cable subscribers across the United States.
"They want to create the interface, and they wanted to work with the cable guys to manage bandwidth across the TV and broadband pipeline," said one source familiar with the talks.

Instead, cable executives pretty much shut the door, preferring to keep Apple at a safe distance from the lucrative $150 billion pay-TV business.
Click to expand...
The report indicates that Apple is actually pursing content deals as its primary target in the television market, with the much-rumored Apple television set being a secondary consideration for the time being. Despite resistance from content providers and cable companies, Apple is said to still be pressing forward with a number of entities including Verizon and AT&T in an effort to land at least a foothold in the television content market.

Apple was reportedly negotiating with content providers back in 2009 about developing a "best of television" package that could be distributed through the iTunes Store, but those talks failed to yield any deals and Apple reportedly abandoned its efforts for some time. But with talk of an Apple television set ramping up and the company reportedly having developed its own "new technology" for delivering video content, it seems that Apple is trying once again to find a way to make its own contributions on the content side so as to be able to control as much of the user experience on television as possible.

Article Link: Apple Pushing Ahead with Plans for Subscription TV Service by Christmas?
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/03/01/apple-pushing-ahead-with-plans-for-subscription-tv-service-by-christmas/
nuckinfutz

nuckinfutz

macrumors 603
Jul 3, 2002
5,539
399
Middle Earth
I'm all in!

What would be revolutionary is giving me a flexible series of packages that I can build on.

I love sports so I want a decent amount of sports but only enough to cover my local teams.
I want my cooking shows so that I can laugh at people that drop cakes or burn their food in
front of judges.

I want on demand a la carte options for when I want to try a series out.

Apple is good at getting companies to begin thinking again and get out of being "stuck on stupid"
I'm eager to see what we gain access to.
 
C

cvaldes

macrumors 68040
Dec 14, 2006
3,237
0
somewhere else
Fake article, or written by a poseur (or blathering idiot). None of which would surprise me from the New York Post.

The spelling of the Apple executive's name is "Eddy" not "Eddie".

You'd have to be an absolute nitwit not to check the executive bios on Apple's PR site to verify this information.

Which is typical for today's tech media.

Journalism is dead.
 
B

bobringer

macrumors member
May 20, 2004
80
11
$100 Billion could go a long way to developing their own content in house. See Lillyhammer from Netflix for an example as to how to do it right.

It's time for Apple to set up an independent subsidiary that is the shining example of how to create content and get it directly in consumers hands. The technology is here (and has been for years). We're a good decade behind technologically because of the cable monopoly control over our boxes. It's time to end that.

In 5 years, once they have FORCED the other players to join the 21st century, that business could be a really nice spinoff unlocking a ton of additional shareholder value.

----------
cvaldes said:
Fake article, or written by a poseur (or blathering idiot).

The spelling of the Apple executive's name is "Eddy" not "Eddie".

You'd have to be an absolute nitwit not to check the executive bios on Apple's PR site to verify this information.

Which is pretty unsurprising for today's tech media.

Journalism is dead.
Click to expand...

Overreact much? Sheesh...
 
Macman45

Macman45

macrumors G5
Jul 29, 2011
13,197
135
Somewhere Back In The Long Ago
I have always fought shy of subscription TV services because they don't offer me the kind of things I like. The same would apply here, but if it is to be "App driven" and you only pay for what you want, it will then depend on content.

I'm a sci-fi buff, if Apple had a channel airing such programmes and films, AND if the ATV3 is 1080p, then I'm in.
 
C

cvaldes

macrumors 68040
Dec 14, 2006
3,237
0
somewhere else
JAT said:
That's a little strong. You could also just read letters 4-9 of this website's title.
Click to expand...
Oh, don't worry, I know this is a rumors site.

That still doesn't justify research that a smart grade-school kid could handle.

True journalism died in the late Eighties/early Nineties.

And yes, I know, it will only get worse...
 
SvK

SvK

macrumors 6502
Jan 12, 2005
285
0
San Diego
i would LOVE to just buy a single news channel, in my case MSNBC ;-)
Movies I view with Netflix and apple rentals.

best,
SvK
 
J

JimMacFan

macrumors regular
Jan 13, 2009
172
0
cvaldes said:
Fake article, or written by a poseur (or blathering idiot). None of which would surprise me from the New York Post.

The spelling of the Apple executive's name is "Eddy" not "Eddie".

You'd have to be an absolute nitwit not to check the executive bios on Apple's PR site to verify this information.

Which is typical for today's tech media.

Journalism is dead.
Click to expand...


hahahahahah.....you can't be serious. Journalism dead due to a simple misspelling? Oh the Horror!!!
 
nuckinfutz

nuckinfutz

macrumors 603
Jul 3, 2002
5,539
399
Middle Earth
Apple's going to get the they want.

The fear going through the studios must be palpable. If they don't submit to Apple's demands their competitors might and they could find themselves missing out on a lot of revenue and exposure.

How many studios tried to pull out of iTunes only to come slinking back in when the checks stopped coming?

Apple today is even more of a behemoth. Projected 55 million iPads?? More iPhones than that and an Apple TV device that is gaining in popularity. Sometimes you just have to get in bed with Apple knowing that you're going get screwed but you won't be left penniless
 
AppleScruff1

AppleScruff1

macrumors G4
Feb 10, 2011
10,026
2,949
Why would service providers such as Comcast and Verizon cave in to Apples demands? So they can lose business and make money for Apple?
 
ikm19

ikm19

macrumors 6502
Nov 1, 2007
280
78
Texas
Go Ahead and buy Dishnetwork and Direct Tv and create your own set top box and cable network will follow.
 
J

JimMacFan

macrumors regular
Jan 13, 2009
172
0
We know Apple revolutionized the way we purchase music, but I believe they will have an uphill battle with these content providers. I hope they succeed but it's going to be a tough battle and Apple will have to make concessions on pricing with the providers.
 
M

mattraehl

macrumors 6502
Feb 26, 2005
384
1
I've always enjoyed Apple products, but after getting an iPhone and iPad recently, I really wish all the device interfaces I used were made by apple - DVR/STB, Car, Microwave, whatever. So many of the interfaces we use are just really crappy.
 
J

JimMacFan

macrumors regular
Jan 13, 2009
172
0
nuckinfutz said:
Apple's going to get the they want.

The fear going through the studios must be palpable. If they don't submit to Apple's demands their competitors might and they could find themselves missing out on a lot of revenue and exposure.

How many studios tried to pull out of iTunes only to come slinking back in when the checks stopped coming?

Apple today is even more of a behemoth. Projected 55 million iPads?? More iPhones than that and an Apple TV device that is gaining in popularity. Sometimes you just have to get in bed with Apple knowing that you're going get screwed but you won't be left penniless
Click to expand...

I see this a little different that the music industry.....the studios and cable companies have alot more weight than the record companies did back when apple launched itunes. Should be interesting.........
 
K

KT Walrus

macrumors member
Jul 10, 2008
30
0
Apple should just open a TV App Store where an app must have at least 1 live channel and access to On Demand for all shows on the channel that aired in the past year. Let the TV networks set the pricing for their apps (presumably a monthly subscription) and give Apple their standard 30% cut.

In addition to the live streaming apps, Apple should allow a single TV show app where all episodes of the TV show are available On Demand (possibly going back years) with new episodes added as they air on cable TV. Rather than a subscription, the series would be available for a single price.

Finally, to let the TV networks run normal commercials, Apple could disable Fast Forward and only support Rewind. Apple would take 30% of any commercial revenues and would serve up the ads. This would keep the price of most TV Apps in the App Store low or free.
 
Nostromo

Nostromo

macrumors 65816
Dec 26, 2009
1,358
2
Deep Space
It makes sense that Apple wants to get into the content providing area.

A whole, new realm of possible revenue.

Will we see an Apple Studio which produces its own content?

We'll see.
 
S

soapsuds

macrumors member
Nov 28, 2004
59
0
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Yeah, it's not clear how Apple has any leverage to pull this off. The cable companies are already tightly coupled to the content creators, plus in many areas of the US cable is the only decently fast broadband provider available, so even if content deals get made they can always throttle people's connection to the apple servers since net neutrality failed.

I would love to see an alternative to crappy cable boxes and be able to buy content a la cart, but I can't see how they could achieve that without some dramatic acquisition or partnership.
 
DrStern

DrStern

macrumors member
Feb 2, 2012
56
0
Torrance, CA
I would LOVE that!!!

I've wanted metered or ala Carte service forever! I hate paying gobs of money for content, 95% of which I never view.

The problem is that Cable companies have monopolies and overcharging and poor service are a part of their culture. They will never hand that over to Apple.

If Apple wants into that market, they are either going to have to buy their way in, or they are going to have to work at creating a competitive channel, with lots of politics to gain access to rights of way.

I hope they find a solution. I would much rather have Apple making money off of me than the Cable company. At least Apple gives me something valuable in return.
 
Macman45

Macman45

macrumors G5
Jul 29, 2011
13,197
135
Somewhere Back In The Long Ago
Inakto said:
TV is broken.
500 channels and nothing to watch
Click to expand...

So true....100's of channels, nothing to watch..Apple could really cash in here if they do it right. As I said, I have NO cable subs. A one off app driven deal would interest me a lot.

If they release the Apple TV that's rumoured too, looks like I might be spending more than just £££ on the iPad 3!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom