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It's like, every year they post the same garbage. "Here it comes! Here it comes! Here it comes! Here it comes! aaaaaaand next year."
Very true.
I hope the hardware comes now and the service later when Apple can get all on board. Really tired of waiting for this damn ATV.
 
There real elephant in the room is even when try cord cutting and just get internet plan it just makes more sense to get internet + TV (cable) because the price difference is not even that much maybe $5 or $10

Agreed...Called cable company on what would be the lowest wifi cost, dropping my TV service and it was $89.00 per month, than if I went with Apple for about $30/40 per month, I would be paying more than I am now ($111.00). Its a no go.
 
Everyone talks about cutting cable, but is it really that much more expensive than sling or combining a few alternatives? Like $20/month more for every channel and a DVR.

I don't really remember exactly what I used to pay when I subscribed to Comcast but I remember initially saving about $40 - $50 a month when I cut cord and that's after taking into account the cost of Netflix. That's also taking into account me not having to rent my modem.

However, throw in Hulu Plus, HBO Now, this new Apple TV service, etc and those saving will easily go away. Thus, I won't be subscribing to those services. OTA + Netflix is more than enough content for us.
 
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Exactly.

$60 - Internet only
$70 - Internet + 100 cable channels

Or something like that...

The argument has always been "I'm paying for channels I don't watch" so you'd think by getting fewer channels or NO channels that your bill would be lower.

Well... the cable company is gonna get their money somehow. They will raise the price of internet until it matches what you used to pay for internet + TV

So you're kinda stuck.

The only winning move is not to play... :D


This seems to be a common argument against the rumored TV service that Apple might have.

I know in the past year a lot has changed with what the cable companies are offering (due to competition), but getting the $70 cable plan usually will be missing a few good channels. Plus a big cost that most people with this argument leave out is equipment costs. A large family's STB rental could be $30-40 a month, about the cost of Apple's TV service.

Cable companies have increased their prices every year and will continue until they have a reason not to....competition.
 
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I think they should abandon the idea of selling channels with TV. It will be a local US thing only, there's no point in that. Apple should focus on global things such as new hardware products or universal "software" (apps, selling music, etc). They can sell TV shows on iTunes, what's the point of selling whole channels for yet another subscription? People already pay a lot of subscriptions these days. Some apps require it, TV, Internet, mobile, Internet radio, now Apple Music...

Apple TV + apps + gaming controller + access to iTunes Store for the world's best shows.
 
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comcast is just going to make internet only tiers so expensive that it will make sense to choose one of their double play bundles.

Exactly. It's only a matter of time before all of us are paying as much for just internet as we were for internet + TV. I really hope more cities start doing what my city is doing... running their own gigabit internet service and at a cost that's less than the typical broadband internet you get from the competitors.
 
Agreed...Called cable company on what would be the lowest wifi cost, dropping my TV service and it was $89.00 per month, than if I went with Apple for about $30/40 per month, I would be paying more than I am now ($111.00). Its a no go.

I think it is a case by case basis to figure out if you will be saving money.

When I partially cut the cord, I pay $69 for my fast internet, TV service plus HBO.

I never use the TV service, my STB isn't even plugged into a TV. But I use my HBO sub for all 4 of my Apple TVs.

I will probably not use Apple service, but depending on what channels it includes, I can see people saving money.

Not paying equipment rentals alone would probably pay for most or all of a TV service offered by Apple.
 
An interesting tidbit for people considering "cutting the cord"...

Here is the math (roughly) for how much I pay monthly for my entertainment services:

Hulu - $7.99 /mo
Netflix - $7.99 /mo
Amazon - $8.25 /mo
HBO NOW - $14.99 /mo
Showtime (Now) - $10.99 /mo
Internet - $60 /mo
TOTAL - $110.21 /mo

Also, if you add cost of gaming services, its closer to $125.00 a month total.

Although that is comparable to some internet/cable package prices, I get the benefit of all of it being on-demand. I also have access to those premium providers (HBO and Showtime) which are usually an extra charge with cable service.

Overall it feels like a better value to me, and honestly, I'm not sure if I'd need an Apple TV streaming service simply because I already don't have enough time to utilize all these services as it is...
 
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There's still tens of millions of people who pay around $100 for Cable and providers are still profiting billions ever year. I dont see why people wont pay $40.

Netflix can't even destroy services like Redbox or Hulu, they're not gonna do anything to Cable anytime soon. People want their sports, news, and network shows.

Plus I have a feeling content providers and cable companies will start making bigger moves if they see their bottom line drop drastically because of this. They're not gonna just let billions get away.

I don't think cable providers, networks and studios realize one thing: people will pay for better service. It is no secret the service we get for our money sucks badly. Cable companies all use the same craptastic set top boxes. They are slow and use more energy than a fridge. The Internet service is laughable at best (Internet caps??? Really???) And let's not forget the studios who are hooked on heroin (reality shows)

I bet you if cable companies decided to get out of the hardware business. Left that to electronics experts like Apple, Samsung etc to create set top boxes and UIs. And just concentrated on service, they would see people rushing to give them money hand over fist! Costs would matter less because the service would then match what you are paying.
 
Our house just ditche Sky for wanting £70 a month. When I get the new Apple TV I plan on getting Netflix as it is cheap.

If Apple wants near £40 for a handful of channels they can whistle. This needs a lot of thinking about.
 
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As long as there's a new, more powerful Apple TV with an SDK coming I'll be more than happy.
Exactly...I am ordering 2 the second they are ready for sale.

Apple TV channel will continue to be a dream. Whatever they are proposing in which the content owners make less money will go nowhere. Apple has the money to go alone on this one but they are too afraid of losing content. They should setup an Apple Studios and begin producing their own content to free themselves from these a*holes.
 
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An interesting tidbit for people considering "cutting the cord"...

Here is the math (roughly) for how much I pay monthly for my entertainment services:

Hulu - $7.99 /mo
Netflix - $7.99 /mo
Amazon - $8.25 /mo
HBO NOW - $14.99 /mo
Showtime (Now) - $10.99 /mo
Internet - $60 /mo
TOTAL - $110.21 /mo

Also, if you add cost of gaming services, its closer to $125.00 a month total.

Although that is comparable to some internet/cable package prices, I get the benefit of all of it being on-demand. I also have access to those premium providers (HBO and Showtime) which are usually an extra charge with cable service.

Overall it feels like a better value to me, and honestly, I'm not sure if I'd need an Apple TV streaming service simply because I already don't have enough time to utilize all these services as it is...


A huge benefit that you get for using the services you mentioned is that you can easily cancel and resubscribe if you want to save some cash through out the year. Example would be only using your HBO during GoT, then canceling til the next season.

This is not easily done through cable companies.
 
I paid 50.00 bucks for a digital antennae. I put it on the roof and presto I have 85 free channels. Awesome programming too...movie channels, 24 hour news, classis TV and game shows plus all the broadcast networks. New channels are being added all the time as so many are cutting the cord and going for free TV. 5 years now and I'll never go back to pay TV. I love my apple TV for a bunch of stuff but paid TV is a loser...even at 40.00 per month.
 
Although $40 might not seem a big bargain compared to normal basic cable, it is when compared to Basic Cable + HD Upgrade + DVR Rental + DVR Service + DVR Whole Home Service + Additional Room Receiver(s) all extra fees I pay on top of my "service".
 
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The big problem for cutting cable is live sports. I really don't see how Apple can get a subscription system utilizing it.
All networks know this is a huge profit and I doubt they will relinquish.
That's why the Apple service won't probably be worth for me. I watch tons of basketball and soccer. Add the Olympics and grand slam tennis. Make it hard to leave it behind.
I pay $80 for DirecTV and another $8 for Netflix. I would love to cut that DTV bill in half but not sure Apple will allow me. We'll see.
 
The game changer would be sports. Probably never happen though. Too much money involved.
I agree. Right now we'd be off cable except for Big10 sports. The only way to see them is via a cable package PLUS premium sports package. If we could somehow get GTopher sports over the Web, through a site, through an App like the MLB App, we'd shut off cable tomorrow.
 
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I didn't say live TV would be dead. I said if Apple's service is Live TV only it would be dead.

Me saying "live TV will never be dead" is MY thought - I never said you were the one who had said it.

The part of your post that I quoted was "I feel like in the times of On Demand, Netflix, iTunes, and others similar services, watching TV shows on a schedule other than your own is a thing of the past..."

...which is why I wanted to respond that, in essence, watching TV shows on a schedule other than your own ISN'T a thing of the past because because your live events you NEED to watch live.
 
I thought the whole point of cutting the cables and going with services and boxes and whatnot was to get away from "live" TV and have TV happen when it's convenient for you. Apple lowering the cost of live TV is not the digital revolution I was hoping for.

I mean maybe it's a piece of leaked information that's been misinterpreted or maybe there's so much more than this to what Apple has in mind. But this alone does not feel like a step forward.

I dropped cable over 2 years ago but there are times every once in a while that I miss live TV. Big sporting events like the SuperBowl and news worthy events like the big debate last Thursday are 2 times I wish I had live TV. Other than that, I can watch the Walking Dead the day after it airs on live TV.
 
I am not in the market for an Apple TV service. But I think them taking time to "get it right" is best. The best streaming box UI right now is Fan TV. But I bet you've probably never seen it. Because it took them a long time just to finalize negotiation with ONE cable provider so far.

The TV/Movie industry is notoriously difficult to navigate.

Fan.tv looks nice. They even have the touch-based TV remote rumored for Apple TV.
 
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