Well was Jobs not a member of the Disney Board of Directors in exchange for apple selling pixar to Disney? It is more like Apple in time owning more and more of Disney.
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Apple Adds Major League Soccer and Disney Junior Channels to Apple TV
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Well was Jobs not a member of the Disney Board of Directors in exchange for apple selling pixar to Disney? It is more like Apple in time owning more and more of Disney.
Only Americans care about Disney? I swear both times I went this year there were just about as many foreigners as there were citizens there.
I am all for the expansion of ATV, but they need to fix that loading screen. It looks like a collection of pills...
Often more content than what is available via cable. With HBO GO, I can watch any HBO series, rather than just what's in the current HBO rotation.
I know. I'm splitting hairs when saying that DirecTV only has a license to broadcast the games, while the NFL still owns the content. And as other later posters have mentioned, the DirecTV deal only covers the US. The NFL can do whatever it wants in other countries, and even gives it away in Europe.
Haven't gotten around to trying this yet: http://blog.lexfriedman.com/post/2856721099/dns-servers-specific-domains
Disney Cartoons
When I cut the cable a couple years ago, I thought about how I would let my young kids enjoy some of the same Disney classic cartoons that I did growing up. You know, the ones from the 1930's and 1940's with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy as actually funny characters (not this new mickey mouse clubhouse garbage).
At the time, it looked like the only way to see that stuff was Disney Channel (cutting cable, so no-go), or to buy DVDs. So I started tracking down the "Disney Treasures" DVD collections which have all the classic cartoons in "mickey", "donald" and "goofy" sets. They are limited edition and expensive if you buy them domestically. But I found the same content was available on ebay in legitimate Region 2 or 4 DVDs (UK and Australia), for far less money.
Nowadays, Netflix has a bunch of classic disney cartoon collections available via streaming. So there's your "a la carte" model from Netflix, I suppose.
When I cut the cable a couple years ago, I thought about how I would let my young kids enjoy some of the same Disney classic cartoons that I did growing up. You know, the ones from the 1930's and 1940's with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy as actually funny characters (not this new mickey mouse clubhouse garbage).
At the time, it looked like the only way to see that stuff was Disney Channel (cutting cable, so no-go), or to buy DVDs. So I started tracking down the "Disney Treasures" DVD collections which have all the classic cartoons in "mickey", "donald" and "goofy" sets. They are limited edition and expensive if you buy them domestically. But I found the same content was available on ebay in legitimate Region 2 or 4 DVDs (UK and Australia), for far less money.
Nowadays, Netflix has a bunch of classic disney cartoon collections available via streaming. So there's your "a la carte" model from Netflix, I suppose.
Regarding the NFL - the negotiation for the broadcast rights should be entertaining. Though I'm sure DirecTV will be part of it, there will likely be a consortium of cable companies and possibly Apple tossing bombs into the mix.
The NFL could set it up for exclusivity or non-exclusive (per subscriber) basis which would certainly open up access for many. All the NFL cares about is who is willing to pony up the most $$$.
Also, the NFL is willing to license at reduced cost or even give away content in Europe to see if their product will catch on.
It would certainly be nice if the licensing of apps across different devices were streamlined so that we could pay Apple (or Roku or PlayStation Store) to get content we want. I'm not beholden to DirecTV by any means.
The NFL could set it up for exclusivity or non-exclusive (per subscriber) basis which would certainly open up access for many. All the NFL cares about is who is willing to pony up the most $$$.
Also, the NFL is willing to license at reduced cost or even give away content in Europe to see if their product will catch on.
It would certainly be nice if the licensing of apps across different devices were streamlined so that we could pay Apple (or Roku or PlayStation Store) to get content we want. I'm not beholden to DirecTV by any means.
Atv is well named
There's no need for Apple to worry about getting iTV off various trademark holders around the world, it's obvious that Atv stands for American tv. Pretty much every new addition is totally US-centric.
Ok so the rest of us get an Anime channel (Swissroll) and a music channel (Qello). Hello? Everyone knows that YouTube has pretty much all the music videos you want, somewhere.
Why is the BBC iPlayer not available in the UK? Would it eat into iTunes sales?
Before Apple repatriates their 'foreign' profits maybe they could make a bit more effort, and spend some cash, on bolstering their content in the territories that help generate that profit?
There's no need for Apple to worry about getting iTV off various trademark holders around the world, it's obvious that Atv stands for American tv. Pretty much every new addition is totally US-centric.
Ok so the rest of us get an Anime channel (Swissroll) and a music channel (Qello). Hello? Everyone knows that YouTube has pretty much all the music videos you want, somewhere.
Why is the BBC iPlayer not available in the UK? Would it eat into iTunes sales?
Before Apple repatriates their 'foreign' profits maybe they could make a bit more effort, and spend some cash, on bolstering their content in the territories that help generate that profit?
Yeah, if you get a dozen online services at $8/month, that does add up to about what the average person pays for cable.
But, most people get 1-3 online services (or the equivalent in season passes to Apple) to more than completely replace cable, and they pay $8-25 a month to replace the $100+ cable bill.
I think his problem is with the purchased-monopoly cable company, not with the actual content creators. At least, that's how I read it.
The people not doing well in cable? First, they must be really bad at their jobs, because cable companies have been posting massive profits the past decade. Second, when cable dies - and it will - it will be replaced by a better model not built around a 1970s anachronism. If you're working for a cable company and providing actual value, you will have a place in the replacement industry. If your value is forcing people to buy content that they don't want or keeping them from watching content they've bought on their devices, etc ... you will need to learn a new skill or starve. Sorry.
I'm in the US so that showed me some other options, including GAME<<REWIND: https://gamerewind.nfl.com/nflgr/secure/packages?icampaign=Prod_GR_Nav&cvsorc=Homepage.GR.GP_Nav
$69.99 for "Season Plus": Watch full game replays* of every NFL Game all season long - Including Playoffs and Super Bowl XLVIII. Access through July 31, 2014.
$39.99 for "Season": Watch full game replays* of every NFL Game all season long. Access through January 10, 2014.
$29.99 for "Follow Your Team": Choose your favorite team and watch full game replays* of their Regular Season games. Access through January 10 2014.
Hmmmm
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Not harping on the messenger, but that cable rep is blowing smoke.
You don't buy the sports section of a paper separately because it is cost prohibitive for the newspaper to sell one stack of paper as the sports section, another as the main news, another as regional news, etc.
Likewise, in the 1970s, one could not sell one show at a time, because it would be cost prohibitive to send a different set of shows to every household over a duplexed copper cable. But, today, aside from the shrinking live-tv business, a very large chunk of cable video is sent as packets in pay-per-view, on-demand, and IP-TV. There is no intrinsic value in bundling.
The remaining value of bundling is very straightforward: you get people to pay for a lot more than what they really want to watch. Bundling is always customer-hostile in the cable industry. That is why they have fought "a la carte" subscriptions tooth and nail for the past 25 years, and why they are fighting any breakdown further than "channel" even now.
It is a losing fight for the cable companies. In the meantime, though, there are still billions of dollars to be made fleecing the slow-moving customers of the dying business model before they wake up.
I think this mentality will need to change, and we the consumers are the ones who ultimately have the power, to make a difference and force a change.
It's difficult to predict the future if we don't act, or maybe it is, maybe it will just stay the same. However, if we do something, like stop paying for cable tv, then maybe, just maybe the cable providers might actually listen.
Nah, that would never happen.
Well, one at a time, and eventually we get there. The great thing is: there's really no harm in being the first one on your block to drop cable. You just save mountains of money every month, which you might choose to put towards (more) directly purchasing content from the content producers, or towards petty things like feeding your family.
Amazon was Very Flakey for us for a long time. In the past two months, however, it suddenly stopped crashing (by "crash" here I mean the stream would freeze up and not be able to restart), and has been running smooth as butter.
Not sure if this is a universal change or not, but I know Amazon has rather suddenly and unexpectedly become a really reliable service. Since it is streaming, it's not as nice as local or even "streaming" content from Apple (streaming Apple content doesn't promise an instant start and allows the whole file to be downloaded). But, it is vastly improved.
And that's why I hate NPR just as much as "regular" media.
The interviewer couldn't have shot this down with "but if I buy MacWorld or Guns and Ammo, I don't get the Watchtower and the soccer rag crammed down my throat either, so your comparison is crap."?
You are probably right but yet, I couldn't care less. They took so much money from me that it's fair I do it back.
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I remember back in 2003, we had a company meeting with all employees and the big news Steve Sabol (CEO) and Barry Wolper (COO) told us was that Comcast was going to carry Sunday Ticket. We all cheered and were so excited. Sadly, just 5 days later, he followed up with an email saying that DirecTV threw a crapload of money at the NFL and won the rights back.
Sure, but you made it seem like the NFL can stream NFL games which they can't (in the US).
I'm not privy to much so I won't like and act like I was an important person but I will say that when we were told at an employee meeting in 2003 that Comcast was taking it over, we all got excited only to find out a few days later that DirecTV essentially backed up a tractor trailer of cash to the NFL and swooped in to take the rights back. Basically, when I talked to Steve Sabol and Barry Wolper (then COO), they said money talks. Simple as that.
In case you don't believe I worked there or talked directly to Steve himself, here's a photo. This was a great moment in my life to have the honor holding the Lombardi trophy while posing with him. May he rest in peace. This was taken in his office. He was such a great guy
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Well, that's basically what I'm saying, is in '14 it may be as simple as who has the highest offer, and Apple (or whoever) with cash reserves that far exceed DirecTV may just show up with a bigger truck
I mentioned your insight since you might've been privy to some kind of insider details that it was more about just the money, but knowing the NFL, as long as they get paid, and have some kind of overriding control, they're happy.
My previous company I sold back in 2000 did some of the first major "high bandwidth" web development for the NFL and our local team, we worked pretty closely with the NFL (once sat at a table right across from Paul Tagliabue and his legal and marketing team), and understand pretty intimately the incredible control and power they can assert over media outlets.
Well, that's basically what I'm saying, is in '14 it may be as simple as who has the highest offer, and Apple (or whoever) with cash reserves that far exceed DirecTV may just show up with a bigger truck
I mentioned your insight since you might've been privy to some kind of insider details that it was more about just the money, but knowing the NFL, as long as they get paid, and have some kind of overriding control, they're happy.
My previous company I sold back in 2000 did some of the first major "high bandwidth" web development for the NFL and our local team, we worked pretty closely with the NFL (once sat at a table right across from Paul Tagliabue and his legal and marketing team), and understand pretty intimately the incredible control and power they can assert over media outlets.
Yeah, I'd be ALL FOR IT if Apple backs up their trucks of cash! It would be totally incredible! We got NHL and others on there, it's just a little light without the NFL so if they still go by the almighty dollar, then maybe Apple will step up but I think they won't sadly. It would just be too good to be true. We couldn't be so lucky.
That wasn't my intent. Sorry. I'm just optimistic that the NFL will share the love starting in 2015. God, I hate all the Sunday Ticket ads. Those guys in the ads seem like giant pricks.