What does Apple know about running a wireless carrier, a film studio or a cable network? All of those are capital intensive businesses. I think Apple executives enough on their plates right now.
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Apple 'Monitoring' AT&T's Potential Time Warner Acquisition
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Oh, come on! It's not like Apple would buy the business and have to figure out how to run the business themselves from scratch. They would retain some of the AT&T executives and a large number of the AT&T retail and support staff as a part of the deal.
Yup. That was a disaster and one which Warner Bros. is still getting over to this day.
[doublepost=1477100572][/doublepost]What happened to monopolies being a bad thing? Att would own a major phone company, DIRECTV and a huge programming company. What would keep them from over charging cable and other sat companies and phone companies for shows and movies made by time warner??
Amid rumors suggesting AT&T is considering purchasing Time Warner, the parent company of networks like CNN and HBO, The Wall Street Journal says Apple is keeping a close eye on the situation as it would have a major impact on the television industry and could potentially impact future television deals Apple might make with the two companies.
Apple at one time was reportedly in talks with Time Warner about a potential streaming television deal and has been rumored to have been interested in purchasing Time Warner assets at one time, but negotiations stalled and the two companies are no longer holding talks.
Time Warner owns a huge number of assets that could have serve as the foundation of a streaming television service should Apple have struck a deal with the company. Networks like CNN, HBO, TBS, TNT, NBA TV, Cartoon Network, and Warner Bros. are all under Time Warner's umbrella, but with AT&T and Time Warner in "advanced talks" it seems unlikely Apple will do more than "monitor" the situation.
A deal between AT&T and Time Warner could be finalized as early as this weekend, but The Wall Street Journal suggests "a host of other contenders" could offer deals for Time Warner, putting an end to the AT&T acquisition.
Last year, Apple was pursuing a streaming television service that would allow it to offer a skinny bundle of channels from popular networks and cable companies for approximately $40 per month, but it wasn't able to establish the necessary deals and shelved its plans.
Apple is instead leveraging the Apple TV set-top box as a platform that allows cable companies and other content providers to offer television shows and apps through an Apple-designed interface and user experience.
Just this week, Apple iTunes chief Eddy Cue said that television "needs to be reinvented" and called existing television interfaces "pretty brain dead."
Article Link: Apple 'Monitoring' AT&T's Potential Time Warner Acquisition
oh come on. Apple paid 3 billion for the stupid Beats By Dr Dre.
Now they are just "monitoring" Time Warner? Write them a check already.
Now they are just "monitoring" Time Warner? Write them a check already.
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Apple needs to learn how to negotiatiate. They approach negotiations from the world revolves around us. Reality, they are a major player. Media like apps drive device sales and revenue. Hope they learn this lesson, sooner the better.
Apple is right not to buy it. There is not much value in it for Apple.
Apple will have to buy hundreds of channels it has no interest in. So this will be too expensive. Secondly, since Apple is not in ISP business, there are no synergy and cost savings unlike cable/internet companies who can get some savings on unified package.
Apple will have to buy hundreds of channels it has no interest in. So this will be too expensive. Secondly, since Apple is not in ISP business, there are no synergy and cost savings unlike cable/internet companies who can get some savings on unified package.
are you sure Apple's not interested in CONTENT?
They may say they don't care, by the end of the day you need content to sell Apple TV.
They can't buy Comcast. Antitrust and too expensive. I think Apple should buy Disney. Bring back Laurene Jobs.
All content providers supply content to Apple platform themselves, don't they. Apple is a vendor (or mall owner); it doesn't have to design and produce every thing sold in its mall (iTunesStore, AppleTV), it gets royalties from content owners anyway and leaves to them the creative pain.
att will buy verizon and comcast and everything in its path watch out
[doublepost=1477103766][/doublepost]Att will be a monster once again
Though I DO look forward (hopefully) to app based streaming cable servces, I beg of Apple not to join AT&T or TWC in order to do so. And if they must, to at least generate Apple Brand apps to control the communications. Both "cable" providers mentioned are completely sloppy and careless with their customers information and data. AT&T has even been busted splitting off 100% of all their customers communication data to big brother, via secret rooms with fiber optic signal splitting gear. (Not a joke)
Apple seems to be one of a very few companies that (so far) appears to care about such privacy and security matters. May they firever stay as such!
Apple seems to be one of a very few companies that (so far) appears to care about such privacy and security matters. May they firever stay as such!
Apple should really move in on this and make a serious bid. It's bad enough Charter was allowed to [quietly] acquire Time Warner Cable after Comcast was denied to keep another Ma Bell monopoly. One company who opposes Net Neutrality now supplies ~75% of all US internet services.
Should at&t acquire Time Warner programming it would become another Ma Bell for cable programming. An investment firm recently became the second largest shareholder of CNN as well as Fox News' Newscorp after Newscorp's largest shareholder, a Saudi Prince, dumped his shares last year. Ted Turner tried to buy back CNN which is now becoming Fox Light.
Forget about having actual news in the US and revamping an antiquated system. Apple needs to make a pitch, they have the means, get on board.
Should at&t acquire Time Warner programming it would become another Ma Bell for cable programming. An investment firm recently became the second largest shareholder of CNN as well as Fox News' Newscorp after Newscorp's largest shareholder, a Saudi Prince, dumped his shares last year. Ted Turner tried to buy back CNN which is now becoming Fox Light.
Forget about having actual news in the US and revamping an antiquated system. Apple needs to make a pitch, they have the means, get on board.
The companies operate separately for several reasons, but make no mistake... it's the same body of water. The services flow through the same equipment to the same destinations... Controlled by the same careless greedy corporate ******s
You pay for Apple TV once every few years.
People pay $15 for HBO Now every month.
It's pretty clear where the money is.
if i didn't have a vested interest in apple (both as a user and shareholder), than i would be against such a deal since that would mean that from production to delivery to mode of consumption, apple would be controlling every step of the way.
but as a shareholder and a user, i would be just fine with that.
but as a shareholder and a user, i would be just fine with that.
A pretty fascinating flow chart of the AT&T, Time and Warner evolution. Reminds me of the map of the London Underground, only with fewer destinations.
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From what I am reading the final price could be north of $100B.
This is the kind of deal I hope Apple never makes.
[doublepost=1477108991][/doublepost]
From what I am reading the final price could be north of $100B.
This is the kind of deal I hope Apple never makes.
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I was exaggerating, of course. In all seriousness, this may alter the business landscape for them. I can only guess at the negotiating dynamics they have to navigate (okay, I've now officially spent too much time in corporate America if I'm talking nonsense like that).
I think most of the cord cutters and future cutters do care. They didn't cut cable because the content was bad. They cut because of the pricing, the cable box UI and downtime of service. At least that's why I did in that order. And I'm pretty sure I speak for about 50 million others.
HBO revenue in 2015 was a record high 6.1 billion.
Apple's only iOS alone generated 3 times of it: "gross revenue from its iOS App Store -- which now also includes software for the Apple Watch and Apple TV -- exceeded $20 billion for 2015, implying that sales were up between 40% and 47% year-over-year." Now add icloud, iTunes, Mac App Store-- and its pretty clear where the money is.
[doublepost=1477113703][/doublepost]Content is a like shirt in the mall. If mall wants to sell a nice shirt, it doesn't have to make it itself.
It can just order it (like AppleMusic exclusive), or find a vendor who sells a particular shirt.
No need to go into sewing business themselves.
Content business itself is not very high margin one. Competition between shows is ruthless, costs are constantly rising (20 million just for one star to err..star), margins are slim, half of shows end losing money and in general very risky business. One bad show, one bad movie may doom a studio.
Internet pipes need content because they want to have money from downloading the shows through their pipes they built, so they can return their investment, mostly to dumb cable box. Nothing else.
Apple however, owns the smart platform which delivers shows to consumers (not pipes), but front-end, payment, services, games, whatever content is created in the world. All risks related with content are borne by content providers but Apple is working without risk. This is smartest decision of Apple who doesn't have a fret if its new shows or news channels are losing money
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Apple TV, Apple Watch and other miscellaneous Apple products all together brought in 2 billion per quarter.
If HBO alone can bring in 1.5 billion per quarter sounds like it's a pretty decent business to be in.