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During today's earnings call covering the first fiscal quarter of 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about Apple's next moves when it comes to the television, such as original programming, where the company has been experimenting with content for its Apple Music service.

Cook didn't have too much to say on the subject, but he said Apple has a "toe in the water" and will see how things play out going forward. Cook believes the media industry will continue to evolve as the cable model breaks down, perhaps leading to new opportunities.
In terms of original content, we've put our toe in the water doing some original content for Apple Music, and that will be rolling out throughout the year. We're learning from that and we'll go from there.
He went on to say that the Apple TV has gone a long way in the year that it's been available for purchase, and has provided Apple with a "clear platform" to "build off of." Earlier in the call, he said Apple now has 150 million paid subscriptions for first and third-party services, and that's an area where Apple "participates economically" by providing the platform.

Apple is working on several shows that will be used to promote Apple Music, including Carpool Karaoke, a reality television series based on James Corden's Carpool Karoke bit during the "Late Late Show," and "Vital Signs," a drama that will star Dr. Dre. Neither show has an air date as of yet, but as Cook says, they're coming soon.

Cook ended the question by saying "With our toe in the water, we're learning a lot about the original content business and thinking of ways we could play in that."

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook: We Have a 'Toe in the Water' Testing Original TV Content on Apple Music
 

Slix

macrumors 65816
Mar 24, 2010
1,441
1,989
I really, really, hope they don't use the phrase "Apple Music" to host any original TV shows or anything of that nature.

Still don't know why the iTunes Store wasn't a sufficient name for Apple Music's streaming. "iTunes Streaming", or something similar, would have been fine, because the iTunes Store name already had a firm placement in the industry to buy not only music, but also TV shows and movies, and apps.
 

julesme

macrumors 6502a
Oct 14, 2016
589
2,077
San Jose
Toe in the water??? Meanwhile Netflix has gone from a $4b to a $60b company, Amazon, Hulu, hell even CBS have rolled out increasing slates of original web based TV shows, and Sony Vue, Sling, and others now have growing online cable TV packages. All the while, Eddy Cue is showing up an hour late, with his Hawaiian t shirts and sneakers, to meetings with TV execs.

But please tell us more about your toe in the water!
 

Porco

macrumors 68040
Mar 28, 2005
3,315
6,909
It's good to have a toe in the water, just so long as you are careful not to put your foot in it.
 
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konqerror

macrumors 68020
Dec 31, 2013
2,298
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Steve Jobs also had a toe in the water when he released an iPod that could make basic voice calls to see how things played out with cell phones going forward. Oh wait...
 

69Mustang

macrumors 604
Jan 7, 2014
7,895
15,043
In between a rock and a hard place
*Insert comment about how Tim is ruining Apple and there is no innovation*69Mustang is a my personal hero. He's so tall (not really) and so handsome (nope) and probably exceedingly rich (strike 3)
Chris I hope you don't mind me piggybacking on your quote to joke with Glassed Silver.

I would, but as a non-mod I cannot edit your comment, sorry.

Glassed Silver:ios
Oh really?? ;):D:p
 

jjmfe

macrumors newbie
May 25, 2016
4
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Yes, the competition and participation by other companies is getting larger, but also the user interface on AppleTV is the worst of the top 3... Arguably, Roku is the best... We own the cheapest 2016 Roku, (X3) a couple Firesticks, and 8 Apple TV... Which do we use the most???? The Roku or Firestick.....

I prefer Roku, because it's item searches are better, and the management of multiple devices is easier.... Apple just needs to step up it's game.

Things I'd like to see.... a better selection of apps, more free content applications... (not likely).... ...and make it... "Search Agnostic" across more providers... It's too limited right now. It only searches its own stuff.

Improve the background interface... The thing looks like my iPhone... It's "Butt-ugly", instead of running content in the background while I'm scrolling, or offering up suggestions based on my history..(and do it cross-application)

Why can't I stream my books on my TVs??? Yes, I can send them from my computer to a TV... but why not access them directly on the TV???? Bad defect...

Why can't I globally standardize my Apple TVs from one computer application, so everything is in the same place on all the Apple TV units..., and the same apps on all devices????

Steal some ideas from Firestick and Roku....I've owned Apple TV since the big flat silver 160gig units, and currently have 8 hockey pucks that seem only to get firmware updates, but no interface improvement.

I prefer our Roku, and Firestick even though I own lots of content.
 
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paul4339

macrumors 65816
Sep 14, 2009
1,448
732
it'll be nice to see what their strategy is in here. Are they really seriously considering going into originally programming? or just staying with expanding their platform.

If they are going into programming, geez, they have a lot of catching up to do... Netflix: Stranger things, HBO: GoT, Amazon: Top gear/Grand Tour... Apple: Planet of the Apps?

Netflix is #2 at $6B/yr in original programming, Amazon says they will double their current $3.2B/yr by end of 2017. Even NBC/CBS each have around $4B ... It'll be interesting to see if they will attempt to go head to head.
 
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