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Apple Met Paramount and Sony Executives Last Week as it Flirts With Original Content
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What exactly could Apple have done with the ATV4??? They don't own the content. And there is nothing apple can do to force content owners' hands. Even if the ATV had 4K capabilities, it still would suffer from a lack of seamless live and On-demand content
I'd rather them chase rainbows than Netflix or HBO. Video is what those companies were built on. That is their reason for existing. Apple should focus on what Jobs focused on -- changing the world through innovative electronics. Anyone can publish a dreck show about apps. Heck there are thousands of podcasts that do that.
People criticise him a lot. Not sure why. Jony, Tim and Eddy get a lot of hate for 'ruining Steve's Apple' despite being the only senior people at Apple to attend Steve Jobs' personal funeral. Clearly they knew him well, and he knew what he was doing leaving them in charge.
Apple just does not have the "cool" factor when it comes to content. First of all they r always late to the party. Second they only focus on the US and obviously their own devices.
Carpool Karaoke for example was maybe cool last year and remember that "hip" music presentation last year? Embarrassing
Carpool Karaoke for example was maybe cool last year and remember that "hip" music presentation last year? Embarrassing
Keynote presentation style aside, he's the executive that oversees Apple's most often criticized products: Siri, iCloud, iTunes, etc. I kind of sort of blame him for being "late" to the streaming music party, too.
On a weekly basis? What are you going to tell me next? I have to watch it live, exactly when they air it, or catch a rerun? And there's going to be 3 minutes worth of ads for every 7 minutes worth of content? And I have to get 1000s of channels that I don't want and it'll all cost me $300/month?
I wanted Apple to revolutionize how TV is delivered years ago. It seems like Netflix and Amazon already have it all but perfect... if accessing shows from TV channels was as easy as accessing their own original content, they'd have it perfect.
Skinny bundles are coming at the same problem from the opposite direction... hopefully they'll eventually be exactly like Netflix and Amazon... then they could fill in that hole of having everything worth watching on cable TV, but as convenient as Netflix and Amazon.
Forget about skating where the puck is going to be - it seems like Apple is just diving into random industries and can't even match the current leaders.
Maybe they'll release an Apple Car that competes with a 2008 Tesla Roadster.
Believe ole Mr Buffett is on to something. Yes the upcoming iPhone 8 will be huge with the redesign etc and profits... But the sticky products and Ecosystem is KEY!
I think Apple has been negotiating huge changes within the TV/media landscape for some time now, but hasn't happened yet because the legacy money distribution. The TVos platform with the App store is really just the beginning. As older generations pass, the legacy TV distribution systems go with it. Streaming is the obvious future, but its when not if the money/ad dollars migrate from one to the other. (DTV Now/Sling TV are really just transitional services from cable/Satellite Distribution to streaming, but that too is in its infancy)
I believe Apple has been laying the ground works for a fundamental change coming sooner than we all thought based on consumer demand. The networks need to protect their revenue streams, but they absolutely will have to follow consumer demand as the money will also. Time is truly on Apple's side, but they are smart enough and able to with their War chest to make revolutionary changes in the TV landscape at the RIGHT time. The new TV app was just a nibble. As streaming picks up the UI and interface/interaction will be the defining pillars that will differentiate in the coming years. All integrating within the Apple Ecosystem from the iPhone, Watch, ipad, Mac etc...
Certainly won't bet against Apple, but I do realize that the shift we are seeing is coming and will be exciting to watch! Now if we all only have the Berkshire Float of money Buffett has to take advantage of this. I'll put my pennies in and look forward to the upcoming changes.
I think Apple has been negotiating huge changes within the TV/media landscape for some time now, but hasn't happened yet because the legacy money distribution. The TVos platform with the App store is really just the beginning. As older generations pass, the legacy TV distribution systems go with it. Streaming is the obvious future, but its when not if the money/ad dollars migrate from one to the other. (DTV Now/Sling TV are really just transitional services from cable/Satellite Distribution to streaming, but that too is in its infancy)
I believe Apple has been laying the ground works for a fundamental change coming sooner than we all thought based on consumer demand. The networks need to protect their revenue streams, but they absolutely will have to follow consumer demand as the money will also. Time is truly on Apple's side, but they are smart enough and able to with their War chest to make revolutionary changes in the TV landscape at the RIGHT time. The new TV app was just a nibble. As streaming picks up the UI and interface/interaction will be the defining pillars that will differentiate in the coming years. All integrating within the Apple Ecosystem from the iPhone, Watch, ipad, Mac etc...
Certainly won't bet against Apple, but I do realize that the shift we are seeing is coming and will be exciting to watch! Now if we all only have the Berkshire Float of money Buffett has to take advantage of this. I'll put my pennies in and look forward to the upcoming changes.
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this is obviously a reaction to the Oscar success of Netflix and Amazon. Apple following the lead
It's a sad time the "iPhone maker" sold 78 million units last quarter. It's a sad time the "iPhone maker" has almost a quarter trillion dollars in "cash". Sad!
My initial worry was that Apple considers its newest flagship products good enough to persue something else. On reflection, this will directly improve the Apple TV.
My second worry is that Apple's content won't be any good. But then, I really like the look of planet of the apps (unlike every naysayer on here). Plus, Apple partnering with, or buying a company who does know what they're doing content-wise seems to suggest Apple knows what it's weaknesses are.
What I would hate to see is an Apple that is scared to do anything different or take risks.
My second worry is that Apple's content won't be any good. But then, I really like the look of planet of the apps (unlike every naysayer on here). Plus, Apple partnering with, or buying a company who does know what they're doing content-wise seems to suggest Apple knows what it's weaknesses are.
What I would hate to see is an Apple that is scared to do anything different or take risks.
Based on Planet of the Apps i would say we have a lot to look fwd to from Apple 
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As a shareholder I really don't see this as good news because competing with other content distributors over Sony or Paramount produced content doesn't seem like a sure shot to recurring revenue to me. It also concerns me that they are chasin a competitive crowd instead of the crowd chasing it. And the exclusive content Apple has chosen so far it really akin to warmed up McDonalds leftovers. It's not the kind of "smart" programs that Amazon, Netflix or any of the cable channels -- premium or standard -- have presented.
So far Apple has shown it cannot make a superior subscription product. It has a built-in user base of nearly 1 billion worldwide yet it only has a fraction of the music subscription market. It's not that Apple Music is terrible but maybe because it's unnecessary or Apple has not made its case. A few more TV series is not going to change that.
I'm kind of tired of those excuses. So you are saying Sling, Sony, DirecTV, and coming soon Hulu and Google can work out deals do live TV packages but Apple can't? And if Apple can't get their own they can't work with Sling, Sony, DirecTV and now Hulu and Google to get their apps incorporated into "TV"?
They could have done a lot of things, I will list a few. I won't mention the bugs/glitches problem, but just things that could have been included with the ATV4 at launch that would have made it so much better.
1. They shouldn't of had the Siri remote requirement of tvOS apps at launch. This essentially killed the ATV4 as a gaming device.
2. Apple could have included Safari in tvOS. This could have potentially opened up the ATV4 to much more content too.
3. Apple could have insisted on more a uniformed UI with video apps when it comes to control with both the Siri remote, and IR remotes.
4. They could have enabled local search for movies and apps. Also, allow for offline (meanting no internet) viewing of iTunes libraries.
5. You mentioned it, but 4K. For me, this was not a deal killer for buying the ATV4, but I am sure it would have made it more attractive when people were comparing various tv boxes to get. At the price of the ATV4, it should of had 4k.
There are many more things too.
About content, of course Apple couldn't of forced the content owners'/providers' hands, but a deal could have been made. So many other companies are having their own TV plans coming out, Google, Hulu, Direct TV, Sling. Also, this isn't even on my list, because there are so many other things that could have been done to make the ATV4 the go-to tv box, but that is now no longer the case.
It seems like success has gone to the heads of Apple management. With such a huge stash of money, it seems like they've forgotten what it was like to operate "conservatively", and are willing to waste/thrown money around on any buzzword which might be trending in the news or twitter these days.
Wasting $3bn on a two-bit headphone and streaming service company was the start, and it seems like it will continue.
If this is Apple's priorities these days, I worry about its future.
Wasting $3bn on a two-bit headphone and streaming service company was the start, and it seems like it will continue.
If this is Apple's priorities these days, I worry about its future.
And they have an exaggerated sense of their own role in the industry.
Pirates of Silicon Valley 2 and 3. The second would be with Steve Jobs and the comeback after the disaster from the first movie until to his death and Steve Balmer leaves Microsoft.
The third can focus what Cook has done with the Macs and Apple after Steve's death and what Microsoft has done with their Surface and Windows 10.
A 4th movie could have walkers breaking into the new Apple Campus and how Apple employees cope with the Zombie Apocalypse and lack of innovation.
The third can focus what Cook has done with the Macs and Apple after Steve's death and what Microsoft has done with their Surface and Windows 10.
A 4th movie could have walkers breaking into the new Apple Campus and how Apple employees cope with the Zombie Apocalypse and lack of innovation.
Apple's priority is expanding a business that is growing stagnant, thanks in part to it's central driving success of the iPhone. At some point hardware will be a mere commodity. The platform of integrated services will be what drives revenue. Giving someone outside the Apple ecosystem a reason to try Apple and thus join the platform is a significant gain. Original programming is one thing that can drive that adoption rate. It's what drives Netflix, Hulu and Amazon subscribers, which otherwise only offer various collections of the same stale catalogue material licensed from other studios.
As for the Beats acquisition, it sure seems to have paid off for Apple with the AirPods, which shows great promise for the future, as well as Apple Music, flawed though it may be with over 20 million subscribers. The days of customers sitting around with their record collections digitized onto their iPods are fast coming to a close, and if Apple wants to continue to succeed on the thing that built the company into what it is today, they will need to find a way to adopt and expand those services to a rapidly changing media consumption landscape. The hardware will always be there. But without content, Apple will be just another mobile phone maker competing with variations on the same features as their competition.