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Congrats to Mr. Chazelle, very talented filmmaker. Whiplash is truly an amazing film, and I'm eager to see what he does with Apple.
 
I wonder if they will be adding their own Netflix style subscription service because this is the latest in a long line of TV shows that they have commissioned.

Bingo! Yep that’s what’s happening. I think might b a brilliant move - Music AND Video Streaming in all in one bundle.
 
I watched the first, oh, half-hour of that, and flipped it off in self-defense. The musical score was CRAP, the characters were completely flimsy. It reminded me of a French guy's idea of Hollywood in the '60s.
Ah, no taste for the simple things in life.

What's your idea of an excellent musical score? This wan't top of the line, but I enjoyed it.

Oh, also, the ending is half of what makes it worth the watch, so 10/10 review there.
 
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I watched the first, oh, half-hour of that, and flipped it off in self-defense. The musical score was CRAP, the characters were completely flimsy. It reminded me of a French guy's idea of Hollywood in the '60s.

You made it further than I did...opening scene "Wait, they are singing on a freeway? Yeah no thanks"
 
I think Apple is trying too hard spending this big $ on high profile people. Think about all the great Amazon Prime, Netflix, even Showtime shows had B-listers when those shows first aired. (Obviously the shows elevated their stature). Those shows became water cooler material because the scripts were solid, not because they were attached to marquee talent. It reminds of sports teams that go out and spend money on expensive free agents rather than drafting smart or putting together a good farm team (which ever is more relevant to the particular sport).

I can't say any of the concepts we know about really excite me. OTOH I'm looking forward to the new seasons of Bosch, Billions, Man in the High Castle. And the first season of The Marvelous Ms. Maisel was great too and Tony Shaloub is the biggest name in that show.
 
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Apple does what it thinks is best and doesn’t act based on precedent or formula. I’d be loathe to make any firm predictions on what Apple is going to do or how they are going to price it. But if we’re dabbling in pure speculation, I’d guess that they might wanna deal a serious death blow to Spotify by creating at least one option that combines music + video in a way that they just can’t compete with. Somewhere around $15.
I think the content will be free to Apple Music subscribers, at least for the first few years while they’re building their catalog, as they battle Spotify. Available to non-Apple Music subscribers at maybe $4.99.

They’ll have to supplement their small number of offerings with licensed content. That content could be film-only like HBO, or a combination of film and TV, like Netflix/Amazon Prime/Hulu.

Apple will continue to develop various services they can sell into their vast user base. Recurring services revenue is key to Apple’s future, and could allow them to subsidize their hardware.
 
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Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, Apple should just take over Netflix.


That idea has been discredited long ago. It makes no sense for Apple to buy Netflix. Most of Netflix is not original content, but simply licensed content that Apple and everyone else can license. A great example is Disney canceling the licensing for Netflix as they get ready to launch their own service. Apple doesn't need the Netflix people, technology, etc. Thus it would be extremely foolish to spend tens of billions of dollars to in essence buy their original content. Instead, it makes sense for Apple to develop their own original content and license the same content that Netflix does.

Indeed, Netflix is actually in a precarious position as their competition now includes Amazon, Google, Hulu, and soon Apple and Disney. What that means is Netflix costs are skyrocketing as all of them are bidding for the essentially same limited group of producers, directors, studios, etc. Problem for Netflix is that they have limited ability to raise subscription prices to keep up with rapidly escalating costs as they risk losing subscribers. On the other hand, Apple, Amazon, and Google have other mammoth revenue streams and can use video as a loss leader or enhancement of existing services. It's the same reason it would'n't make sense for Apple to buy Spotify. Spotify has lost massive amount of money, but can't raise their subscription prices to make up for it, and the venture capitalists behind it are betting everything on making their money back when they go public and they can sell out. Spotify and Apple have the same content, and they have to be extremely worried that Apple is going to combine Music and Video in the same package.
 
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The App Store, which is a small part of Apple's overall income, made more money than Disney last year. IDK why Apple even cares. Do they really expect to be bigger than Disney in the entertainment space? Is it because the law of big numbers is limiting how much they can make off of a population when it comes to technology alone so they must make everything single thing that we enjoy? Creeps me out. Too much power. There has to be an end to revenue growth—a place where you're making huge piles of cash every day but it just plateaus. What's wrong with that? It's greedy, but I guess shareholders put the pressure on.
 
Neither? This is Apple. This is new, relatively BIG (for Apple) spending on a kind of service. New spending is going to have to have an ROI.

I don’t think Apple ever planned or hoped to make money off a TV streaming service. What they really wanted was to make Apple TV the most popular set-top box. That hasn’t happened for a variety of reasons. Both cable companies and streaming companies (Amazon, Netflix) have resisted Apple’s app ecosystem, for example refusing to make an app for a long time (Amazon) and refusing to integrate with the TV App (Netflix). What we are seeing now is Apple’s attempt to make themselves much more relevant by competing in terms of content. Their ultimate goal is still to sell hardware, as always. (IMO)
 
I wonder if they will be adding their own Netflix style subscription service because this is the latest in a long line of TV shows that they have commissioned.

That’s my question as well. Is this meant to be a new service or just more value add to Apple Music (which might become something new like Apple Media with music stuff in the music app and video in the TV, that should have stayed Video, app)
 
So far nothing I have seen about any of Apple's upcoming TV show has me even remotely interested. Tim Cook and I have very different taste. Sadly most people probably disagree with me and I'm just an old dork who likes Sci-Fi so I won't get what I would like.
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Watch Halt and Catch Fire. It's as close as you're going to get, and it's so good.
Agree.. Its the best (and one of the only) portrayals of the early days of Silicon Valley.
 
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Apple = wheel reinventors
What competitive advantage does Apple have in this industry over existing companies (Disney) or new entrants (Netflix, Amazon)?
What core competence does Apple have that will allow them to compete in this industry?
This is a terrible strategic decision. My guess is that Eddy Cue won a power struggle and now he is sidetracking Apple.
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Their ultimate goal is still to sell hardware, as always. (IMO)
Not going to work. If they go down this path then they need to be 100% a content company. Hardware business model won't work when the product is the software.
 
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Apple this week signed a straight-to-series order for a drama series from "La La Land" creator Damien Chazelle, according to reports from Variety and The New York Times.

Little is known about the series at this time, but Chazelle plans to write and direct each episode of the series, as well as executive produce. Apple did not divulge information about the subject of the series, where it will take place, or how many episodes Chazelle will make.

lalaland.jpg

Chazelle is best known for writing and directing "La La Land," which starred Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. "La La Land" won six Academy Awards, including Best Director, and seven Golden Globe awards. In addition to "La La Land," Chazelle wrote and directed "Whiplash," an award winning film starring Miles Teller.

The original TV series for Apple will be Chazelle's second television-related project, as he also recently inked a deal with Netflix to create "The Eddy," a musical series set in Paris.

Apple has multiple other original TV shows in the works under the leadership of former Sony executives Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, including a revival of 1985 Steven Spielberg sci-fi series "Amazing Stories," an untitled space drama developed by Ronald D. Moore, known for "Battlestar Galactica," an untitled "morning show drama" starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, "Are You Sleeping," a psychological thriller starring Octavia Spencer that focuses on a podcast that reopens a murder case, "Home," a docuseries about amazing houses, and "See," a futuristic drama series.

Article Link: Apple Orders New TV Series From 'La La Land' Creator Damien Chazelle



Apple seems to be biting off more than they can chew. They never came close to putting a dent into Spotify as expected and arrogantly boasted with iTunes and they certainly will not be able to compete with the success of Netflix unless of course they buy them as rumored before (rumor probably planted from within the apple pr machine). We already have Hulu, HBO, Amazon etc and the recent Fox/Disney deal with a major push toward increased content will further push Apple into the abyss. They should stick to their business model of Computer, software and accessories products.
Whats next? Eddie, Jon and others will start directing film content?....The Apple Awards replacing The Oscars? This company is really starting to crap its pants. The eye raising Beats deal wasn't enough? Really!
 
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What competitive advantage does Apple have in this industry over existing companies (Disney) or new entrants (Netflix, Amazon)?
What core competence does Apple have that will allow them to compete in this industry?
This is a terrible strategic decision. My guess is that Eddy Cue won a power struggle and now he is sidetracking Apple.
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Not going to work. If they go down this path then they need to be 100% a content company. Hardware business model won't work when the product is the software.

They wanted to provide an integrated access to entertainment, tried for 3 years to get deals done with current content producers and now they go for plan B. They're goal is not "entertainment", it's just giving a complete service to users instead of the increasingly fragmented one of "cord cutters".
With Disney pulling all their balls from everyone's service, Apple is in no worse shape than well anyone else like Amazon, Netflix and whovever. The hire a few people with lots of experience picking and piloting media projects and invest money in top notch producers and other with good projects.

The ones producing the shows are not Netflix, Amazon or even Disney (except for notable blockbusters).
The studios are merely putting their money in the hands of producers.
All they need is expertise in finance, a guy good at picking winners and a few licensing / IP guys.

You want to know what Apple offers DISTRIBUTION, good god!!
It is so important to success in entertainment that its the reason for constant consolidation and why the US government got the studios to divest their cinemas post WWII.
 
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Right outta the gate AirPods were priced lower, and outperformed, wireless buds from other manufacturers.

Apple does what it thinks is best and doesn’t act based on precedent or formula. I’d be loathe to make any firm predictions on what Apple is going to do or how they are going to price it. But if we’re dabbling in pure speculation, I’d guess that they might wanna deal a serious death blow to Spotify by creating at least one option that combines music + video in a way that they just can’t compete with. Somewhere around $15.


They were priced lower compared to some Bose and other wireless headphones, but I don't know if you can say they outperformed them.

Granted the airpods are amazing for calls, but they don't have features that others have (like having two devices connected at the same time, so you can answer calls from 2 phones/devices). I think second generation airpods have a chance to truly be an outstanding product, but Tim Cook is such a greedy fool who knows.

I think they were priced alrighty for their performance with the W1 chip and clarity in noise environments are the best parts. But given the deficiencies in Apple's ecosystem, lack of volume controls and having to use Siri (sorry, Siri is so bad it makes me want to puke), I passed on them.

Regarding these investments in Media, I see them Apple throwing mud on every wall as Tim loser Cook has no vision, no personality, and no strategic goal for Apple. he is more interested in personal appearances than changing the world. He is the perfect person that needs to go make sugar water.
 
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