Apple Met Paramount and Sony Executives Last Week as it Flirts With Original Content

[gim]

Time to produce some original music content, too!
Craig Federighi as lead singer, Tim Cook as drummer, Eddy Cue as guitarist and Phil Schiller as bassist. I'm sure Jonny Ive would also find a place somewhere. It should be named the Apple iRockBand Pro.

Honestly, I think it is only a matter of time until we see Walmart and Home Depot trying to produce "original content".

 

[Apple Corps]

Apple "flirts" with original content / Apple TV is a "hobby" / project Titan is...?????? / liquid metal for new laptops / the great sapphire screen debacle /

Apple, under Cook, appears to be spinning it's wheels more and more. So much money and resources going in, so little emerging.

 

[stevie grant]

As a shareholder...

Thanks for stating that upfront, so that I don't need to read the rest of your post(s).

 

[Juicy Box]

this is obviously a reaction to the Oscar success of Netflix and Amazon. Apple following the lead

I am not disagreeing with you, but how can Apple compare PotApps to stuff that Netflix is doing?

I really like the look of planet of the apps (unlike every naysayer on here).

When PotApps was first mentioned in articles on MR, I actually thought it might be interesting. I thought it would be similar to a documentary about app developers, their challenges, influences, and basically how an app is made.

After learning more about what PotApps is about, and watching the trailer for it, it looks like a cookie-cutter game/reality show. It looks silly to me.

I am not knocking what you like, infant, I am probably the one that is out of touch with that is popular today. I just know that I am not interested in watching anything like that.

What I would hate to see is an Apple that is scared to do anything different or take risks.

I agree with you here. Apple of the past was good at knowing what consumers wanted and needed before they did which was a big reason for their success today. But, they didn't forget about their core-competencies in their new and existing products. Apple is now just playing follow the leader with every other big tech company.

 

[steve62388]

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.

I am not a fan of Beats headphones but with numbers like these https://www.macrumors.com/2017/01/11/airpods-slice-intelligence-data/ I don't think they threw their money away. When it was first announced I thought Apple overpaid for Beats, I don't think that any longer.

 

[Juicy Box]

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.

I would watch this. This sounds so much more interesting than what they have planned, at least the stuff that has been reported.

I remember watching Pirates of Silicon Valley on TV when it came out. I am not saying that it was accurate or not, but it sure was interesting.

 

[steve62388]

Is it just me or would 8 hours of Carpool Karaoke get really old really fast? Hardly a system seller.

 

[dadohead]

Because entering into a crowded field and creating compelling content as an also-ran is so much easier than delivering a new Mac Pro. Priorities, Apple!

It'll be a fun ad when all the content Apple is producing is created on a WinTel box because Apple blew off their professional market segment to concentrate on producing content instead.

 

[Gildarts]

What has he delivered on, in the last five years, that you would even remotely consider him to be a best executive?

Are you out of your mind? The app store and the iTunes store is all Eddy.
Maybe read up on some stuff. Steve jobs didn't even like the appstore idea.
He even told Eddy (& I think Forstall too) that they better make it work or it would be on them.

Just because you see funny shirts, laughs and dance moves does not mean this man doesn't know his business.

He's terrible at presenting. I'll give you that (he wasn't always that terrible but for some reasons n the newer presentations he wasn't even memorizing his lines, making mistakes all over the place. I don't know what happened to him).


The man is severely underrated.

 

[BoltmanLives]

I remember when Apl was a cool Personal Hardware company...long ago
Why no more cool personal hardware?

This original programming for walled garden folks seems as whacked out as the mystical apl car...when they could not get even a watch to read time and got a black wrist slab that needs a daily charge?

Weird.

 

[Gildarts]

What has he delivered on, in the last five years, that you would even remotely consider him to be a best executive?

I forgot to answer your question. But you should know the answers yourself.
It seems you're not paying attention (maybe willingly so).

iPhone sales = slowing down
iPad sales = slowing down
Mac sales = barely holding

What is Apple's growth opportunity (and it's only growing category)?

Services

What is Eddy Cue's position? Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services.

The man is heading Apple's biggest future money maker.
[doublepost=1488568343][/doublepost]

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.

Everything Apple does is criticized. From AirPods to new MacBook Pro's to the latest version of macOS.

Apple isn't late to the streaming music party.

Eddy is heading the only growing category right now at Apple: Services

And frankly, that's going to be Apple's biggest money maker in the future.

iPhones, iPads & mac sales are slowing down (either in sales or in update cycles).

 

[and 1989 others]

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!

Oooo, chirping away like a well fed canary there.

At no point did I say they didn't make phones or money.

I said, if you read it carefully, it's sad that the media lead with the term phone maker instead of Mac manufacturer.

 

[69650]

Nothing big is going to happen with Eddy Cue in charge.

 

[Rogifan]

I forgot to answer your question. But you should know the answers yourself.
It seems you're not paying attention (maybe willingly so).

iPhone sales = slowing down
iPad sales = slowing down
Mac sales = barely holding

What is Apple's growth opportunity (and it's only growing category)?

Services

What is Eddy Cue's position? Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services.

The man is heading Apple's biggest future money maker.
[doublepost=1488568343][/doublepost]

Everything Apple does is criticized. From AirPods to new MacBook Pro's to the latest version of macOS.

Apple isn't late to the streaming music party.

Eddy is heading the only growing category right now at Apple: Services

And frankly, that's going to be Apple's biggest money maker in the future.

iPhones, iPads & mac sales are slowing down (either in sales or in update cycles).

Eddy isn't repondible for the App Store anymore. And the App Store is the main driver of services growth.
[doublepost=1488568718][/doublepost]

Are you out of your mind? The app store and the iTunes store is all Eddy.
Maybe read up on some stuff. Steve jobs didn't even like the appstore idea.
He even told Eddy (& I think Forstall too) that they better make it work or it would be on them.

Just because you see funny shirts, laughs and dance moves does not mean this man doesn't know his business.

He's terrible at presenting. I'll give you that (he wasn't always that terrible but for some reasons n the newer presentations he wasn't even memorizing his lines, making mistakes all over the place. I don't know what happened to him).


The man is severely underrated.

Phil Schiller runs the App Store now.

 

[robjulo]

iTunes is a disaster.

\\

Are you out of your mind? The app store and the iTunes store is all Eddy.
Maybe read up on some stuff. Steve jobs didn't even like the appstore idea.
He even told Eddy (& I think Forstall too) that they better make it work or it would be on them.

Just because you see funny shirts, laughs and dance moves does not mean this man doesn't know his business.

He's terrible at presenting. I'll give you that (he wasn't always that terrible but for some reasons n the newer presentations he wasn't even memorizing his lines, making mistakes all over the place. I don't know what happened to him).


The man is severely underrated.

 

[2010mini]

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"?

Apple's past success has a part to play in explaining their troubles with securing video content. All tv/movie content owners saw what happened after Apple basically took over the music industry. And they made sure it would never happen to them. It's why they formed the UV locker system... to compete with Apple. Heck some studios flatly refuse to support iTunes BR/DVD codes.

They have been playing hardball with Apple even when SJ was around. It is the same with streaming TV services.... they will not give up control to Apple.

Remember unlike Hulu, sling, Netflix... etc... Apple is the only one that controls their hardware, software and CDN. They don't give up control to anyone.

 

[JungleNYC]

Gee. As if we weren't already @ PeakTV.

Please concentrate on what you're good at. It's okay. You don't have to be involved in everything.

 

[5105973]

Time to produce some original music content, too!
Craig Federighi as lead singer, Tim Cook as drummer, Eddy Cue as guitarist and Phil Schiller as bassist. I'm sure Jonny Ive would also find a place somewhere. It should be named the Apple iRockBand Pro.

Honestly, I think it is only a matter of time until we see Walmart and Home Depot trying to produce "original content".

I actually think a "People of Walmart" and/or "Do-It-Yourselfers of Home Depot" reality tv show or scripted, professionally acted comedy series would make more sense and seem more watchable than "Planet of the Apps".

 

[jlc1978]

Name one area you think they're focussing on today? iPhone? Competition is already past iPhone offerings today.

Content delivery - whether it is audio and video (iTunes, Apple TV) or data and control (Homekit an Health data). I think Apple views itself as providing the hub through which content flows - whether that is entertainment, lifestyle, or other applications and the iPhone / iPad /Mac are just part of that delivery system.

 

[Gildarts]

iTunes is a disaster.

\\

That rebuttal is a disaster.

 

[jlc1978]

That makes no sense because Macs are part of that ecosystem. Macs are also 9% of Apple's revenue. Services (that is the content portion) are another 9%. Hard to see how Apple doubles services revenue while systematically letting Macs dissolve. iPads have less growth than Macs. And iPhone growth is focusing on China and India where disposable incomes are considerable less than other industrialized countries. And content in China is severely regulated.

I'm not saying they let Macs dissolve, just that they are more of a cash cow to sustain than an area which will grow strongly in the future. So you harvest your cash cow and invest in areas you think are the sources of significant growth.

I think there is a lot more more for growth in services, whether it is expanding content offerings in video, integrating data into businesses such as health care and providing a way for individuals to access and use their data as well, becoming the hub for content access at home through iTV/iPad/iPone etc instead of a cable box, expanding into vehicle information systems, for example. Will they do that? I do not know; but I think services have much more upside than computer hardware.

 

[Gildarts]

Eddy isn't repondible for the App Store anymore. And the App Store is the main driver of services growth.
[doublepost=1488568718][/doublepost]
Phil Schiller runs the App Store now.

That doesn't negate his accomplishments regarding to the App store.
Also, Apple has cut their share of the App store so profits from the App store are down.

 

[Rogifan]

That doesn't negate his accomplishments regarding to the App store.
Also, Apple has cut their share of the App store so profits from the App store are down.

Profits from the App Store are down? When did Apple report that?

 

[jdillings]

Nothing big is going to happen with Eddy Cue in charge.

I agree. Eddy is all about penny pinching. If Apple wants to be a part of this space, they will have to spend big and spend often like Netflix and Amazon are doing. Just look at all of the money Netflix has spent just in the last year signing all of the big name comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, Louis C.K, etc. Netflix has practically cornered the comedy market that HBO not too long ago used to dominate. If Apple doesn't get serious and jump in soon, it will be too late because Netflix and Amazon are being very aggressive in this space.

 

[Winni]

Buy Netflix and let it run as is for the next 3 years.

Hell will freeze over before that happens. Besides, if Netflix were for sale, Amazon would buy them. (Heck, Netflix is already hosted on AWS anyway...)