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Apple Hires Amazon Video Executive to Lead Apple TV+ Sports Division

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Apple has reportedly hired Amazon Video sports content executive James DeLorenzo to work on its Apple TV+ on-demand video service.

appletvplus.jpg

DeLorenzo has led Amazon Video's sports division since 2016 and has also been senior vice president of the company's Audible subscription audiobook service, according to his LinkedIn profile. DeLorenzo will head the sports division for Apple TV+, according to Recode. Apple has yet to comment on the hire.

Rumors suggest Apple is seeking to expand its TV+ service with live sports content, which would help diversify its currently limited originals offering.

Apple is also said to be looking to bolster its library by exploring deals for MGM Holdings content and college sports right, as well as purchasing existing back catalog TV series.


Apple charges $4.99 per month for ‌Apple TV‌+, and while many subscribers have a free year after purchasing an Apple device, Apple will need to make ‌Apple TV‌+ worth the subscription fee in the future by offering users more choice.

Article Link: Apple Hires Amazon Video Executive to Lead Apple TV+ Sports Division
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/06/04/apple-hires-amazon-video-sports-chief/
I really don’t care about love sports, I’d rather have more original content and a back catalogue. As it is now, Apple TV+ is extremely low value compared with Netflix or amazon prime. It needs to have at least 5-10 times more tv series and films to be competitive at the current price.
 
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WalterTizzano said:
I really don’t care about love sports, I’d rather have more original content and a back catalogue. As it is now, Apple TV+ is extremely low value compared with Netflix or amazon prime. It needs to have at least 5-10 times more tv series and films to be competitive at the current price.
Click to expand...

Live sports is the only thing that is tying a massive amount of people to cable. Especially live local sports.
 
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WalterTizzano said:
I really don’t care about love sports, I’d rather have more original content and a back catalogue. As it is now, Apple TV+ is extremely low value compared with Netflix or amazon prime. It needs to have at least 5-10 times more tv series and films to be competitive at the current price.
Click to expand...

Give it time. Content doesn’t happen overnight and production has come to a halt because of the pandemic.

Apple TV+ isn’t even officially one year old. Netflix and others didn’t as much original content as Apple at the outset.
 
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Easy for them.

mall they have to do is buy the rights to show football (Soccer to you Americans). Buy the world wide rights to the Premier League and the rights to the leagues in other nations and they have won.

Sorry to say it yanks, but our football is the most popular sports in the world. The rest of the world goes crazy for it. If they got the rights to show the main leagues then they will easily win, hands down.
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ksec said:
Did Amazon made any progress in Sports TV?
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Sports packages subsidise normal TV programmes. It’s fair to say that Netflix and maybe now Disney+ are outliers in this.
Amazon Prime TV is subsidised through Amazon and Prime accounts. Very few people have a Prime account for the TV content.
 
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satchmo said:
Give it time. Content doesn’t happen overnight and production has come to a halt because of the pandemic.

Apple TV+ isn’t even officially one year old. Netflix and others didn’t as much original content as Apple at the outset.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. The content is terrific now, people just don't understand how long it takes to build up a catalog. I'm very excited about their direction they're taking with the service.
 
iAssimilated said:
Please try to get the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket once the DirecTV contract is up... that would make me a lifetime subscriber.
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Why does the NFL need to partner with DirecTV or someone like Apple?

Why can't I just give the NFL money for the service?

I'd love to log into NFL.com, give them my credit card, and watch any game possible. Why do they need a middleman?
 
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WalterTizzano said:
I really don’t care about love sports, I’d rather have more original content and a back catalogue. As it is now, Apple TV+ is extremely low value compared with Netflix or amazon prime. It needs to have at least 5-10 times more tv series and films to be competitive at the current price.
Click to expand...

But a lot of people love sports and live sports are a big money maker.
 
Michael Scrip said:
Why does the NFL need to partner with DirecTV or someone like Apple?

Why can't I just give the NFL money for the service?

I'd love to log into NFL.com, give them my credit card, and watch any game possible. Why do they need a middleman?
Click to expand...

I totally agree, but unfortunately that is not an option at the moment. Apparently the NFL likes getting money for TV contracts (only guessing here).
 
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iAssimilated said:
I totally agree, but unfortunately that is not an option at the moment. Apparently the NFL likes getting money for TV contracts (only guessing here).
Click to expand...

Maybe I need some clarification on this...

Since the NFL has a contract with DirecTV right now... is it only DirecTV customers who can subscribe to the NFL packages?

And if so... isn't that limiting? How many DirecTV customers are there?
 
WalterTizzano said:
I really don’t care about love sports, I’d rather have more original content and a back catalogue. As it is now, Apple TV+ is extremely low value compared with Netflix or amazon prime. It needs to have at least 5-10 times more tv series and films to be competitive at the current price.
Click to expand...

Even if you don't care about live sports, many many people do and the addition of live sports, means the addition of new subscribers which will lead to more programming that you care about.
 
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iAssimilated said:
I totally agree, but unfortunately that is not an option at the moment. Apparently the NFL likes getting money for TV contracts (only guessing here).
Click to expand...
In some countries there would be considerable angst about the ability if the poor to access the broadcast.
regardless, there would be two camps of executives, one which wishes to just do a subscription service, and another that wants to spend their days being smooged by TV/streaming service executives.
The second lot are the cool kids.
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I might observe that in Australia, Fox, which is the main cable service, seems to be trying to transition to streaming. It’s had a few different goes with little success.
What is interesting in the context of this story is that its latest attempt is by trying to offer two services, Binge which is very much like a mix of Netflix and HBO max (it has the rights to the important shows like GoT and Westworld) but no UHD, and Kayo, which is a sports dedicated streaming service which seems to have a lot of rights to various sports.
The interesting bit is that allows Fox to price separately to reduce sticker shock (so Binge for example is price comparable to current comparable streaming services) and there is always the opportunity to bundle later.
 
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The addition of sports is welcome as we move ahead with a full replacement for traditional TV. But the elephant in the room is still news.

I think the easiest way around this would be for Apple to get the news giants on board with becoming channels inside of the AppleTV app that you can subscribe to individually but the real Apple way of doing things would be to embed AppleNews into the TV app as a Channel.

An AppleNews channel would be a typical 24 hour news network format with a main screen window, a ticker below and local weather and a carousel of major news stories on the side.

News is a touchy subject because the major networks have become so partisan but there are examples of straight up news delivery. The Reuters app is probably the best example of this.

Apple is already forging ahead with having their own talent reading AppleNews+ for an audio feature so it’s not much of a jump to have a studio with anchors reading top stories.

I get that people don’t care for news in the same way that I don’t really care about sports but I see the value in sports drawing subscribers to the service that improve the product for all of us in the same way that an AppleNews channel would draw news junkies to the platform and elevate AppleTV+ for everyone.
 
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Michael Scrip said:
Maybe I need some clarification on this...

Since the NFL has a contract with DirecTV right now... is it only DirecTV customers who can subscribe to the NFL packages?

And if so... isn't that limiting? How many DirecTV customers are there?
Click to expand...

Mind you, I believe this is only applicable in the US/North America: Only DirecTV customers can get NFL Sunday Ticket, which allows you to view any NFL game being played that weekend. CBS and Fox only air games in your area/region, so you do not get a choice of what you see. Many bars/restaurants get DirecTV so they can offer as many options to patrons as possible. Being a Broncos & Jaguars fan in Washington State means I have to go to the bar a majority of the time if I want to see those games (or get DirecTV).

Yes, this is super limiting, but I assume DirecTV paid a good deal of money to have this exclusive deal with the NFL. The NFL likes money. This deal is set to expire next year and from reports AT&T no longer feels it is worth the money. Thus, I would love Apple to try to get this contract if possible. There where some reports they were interested last time the deal was set to expire.
 
I would love an Apple Sports Channel with all sorts of sports, live games, compilations, interviews, trainings, etc. Make it the place where you can find all sport related content.
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ipedro said:
The addition of sports is welcome as we move ahead with a full replacement for traditional TV. But the elephant in the room is still news.

I think the easiest way around this would be for Apple to get the news giants on board with becoming channels inside of the AppleTV app that you can subscribe to individually but the real Apple way of doing things would be to embed AppleNews into the TV app as a Channel.

An AppleNews channel would be a typical 24 hour news network format with a main screen window, a ticker below and local weather and a carousel of major news stories on the side.

News is a touchy subject because the major networks have become so partisan but there are examples of straight up news delivery. The Reuters app is probably the best example of this.

Apple is already forging ahead with having their own talent reading AppleNews+ for an audio feature so it’s not much of a jump to have a studio with anchors reading top stories.

I get that people don’t care for news in the same way that I don’t really care about sports but I see the value in sports drawing subscribers to the service that improve the product for all of us in the same way that an AppleNews channel would draw news junkies to the platform and elevate AppleTV+ for everyone.
Click to expand...

Apple TV+ with all the original content they make, Apple Sports with live sport, compilations, interviews, trainings and Apple News with all news providers, all integrated with the News app.
The problem is that it will probably take 100 years before it would come to Europe...
 
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