Apple Picks Up 'Little America' TV Show Written by The Big Sick's Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon

[Cloudkicker]

If possible, you Americans may enjoy 2 Canadian sitcoms from CBC: Little Mosque On The Prairie. Kim's Convenience.

Americans already enjoy Schitt's Creek on PopTV... although not at all an "ethnic" show.

 

[truthertech]

Renting material at $5 a pop or whatever and subscription services are two different animals. Apple is hoping to replace the cable box but the cable companies don't want to give up any more money to Apple than they have to. Apple is likely trying to get into the Netflix game which means they need content outside of their own production. Maybe they work deals like Netflix has with studios for movies etc but if they want the cable channels, they need a different tactic than what hasn't worked so far.


You must have missed the thread. Of course rentals and subscription services are different. And of course Apple is getting into original content--they announced they were going to spend a billion dollars in the first alone on original content and have been signing up folks left and right. The point was whether Apple should buy Netflix at $85 billion or so when the vast majority of Netflix content is something that Apple and anyone can and do license themselves, and Apple can and is working deals, just like Netflix, and Amazon, and Hulu, and HBO, etc, for movies and TV shows. So no, there is no reason for Apple to buy Netflix just to get Netflix' original content.

And, no Apple hasn't been trying to sign up cable companies, that's the dying model they are trying to get away from. Apple and others realize that the future is on demand and ala carte, not an expensive package of hundreds of channels no one watches, stuffed with ads. Cable companies have only held on because of their monopolies in areas. As a wide variety of original content is available elsewhere, that model will crumble.

 

[scotth23]

And, no Apple hasn't been trying to sign up cable companies, that's the dying model they are trying to get away from.

That is speculation on your part. Neither of us know what their intentions are or what they have succeeded/failed at doing.

What was widely believed and reported when Apple first started negotiating with cable companies a few years ago was that they were trying to offer cable channels as apps a la carte (providing both live feeds and on demand) in Apple's own cable cut service. Basically the current apps from cable channels that you can use if you have a cable subscription without the cable subscription. I don't know if their plan or discussions went as far as to bundling channels together or if they wanted each channel subscription to be it's own thing.

The problem was, Apple wants their own percentage of what is bought through their platforms and cable companies balked at paying that percentage of their subscription fees to Apple when they can charge it directly to the consumer or continue to get their fees from hard wired cable companies.

In the meantime, DirecTV and a few other companies have done basically what Apple looks like they were trying to do, although in the case of DirecTV, the relationships were already established.

Apple and others realize that the future is on demand and ala carte, not an expensive package of hundreds of channels no one watches, stuffed with ads. Cable companies have only held on because of their monopolies in areas. As a wide variety of original content is available elsewhere, that model will crumble.

I believe you and I are thinking similar things and possibly missing each other because of different terminology. Whether Apple has shifted gears and decided to go directly for content whether a full channels worth of live feed/on demand content remains to be seen.

 

[bigchrisfgb]

The first bids for the domestic rights (UK) for the Premier League are due tomorrow. I think Apple may just be in amongst them, even if it is reported that they are unlikely to be.

 

[Glockworkorange]

Looks like we may see a TV subscription service from Apple. I hope they will have a version combining Apple Music and the TV service into a single, helpfully discounted bundle. I would sign up.

How are they going to offer it? Apple TV and iOS only? Or will they make it like Apple Music? Would be weird seeing an Apple outlet on a Roku...

 

[odoy]

With all these TV shows in the works I think Apple could be working to offer a TV subscription service.

With all these TV shows and Movies I think Netflix could be working to build a 24/7 cinema

 

[gatearray]

"Lee Eisenberg, who produced comedy series "SMILF" and will serve as showrunner."

I think SMILF stands for Single Mother I'd Like To Family-Friendly, but I could be mistaken.

This is interesting, though.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...rads-to-‘have-sex-with-an-immigrant’.2047562/

 

[tevion5]

Watched TBS last week. Wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy overrated IMHO. Sorry

I never heard anything about it before seeing it in the cinema on a whim. I thought it was funny and pretty entertaining.

 

[2010mini]

That's the beauty of free enterprise and capitalism. Competition is good and will tend to produce the best product, at the best price, for the consumer. Cable vs. streaming services vs OTA vs purchases, etc.

too bad most of the "competition" is owned or in partnership with each other.

 

[jjhny]

Highly underwhelming. Just another thing to waste money on.

More annoying content. I don't think I'd bother even if Apple paid me a monthly subscription to watch.

 

[barbu]

Highly underwhelming. Just another thing to waste money on.

More annoying content. I don't think I'd bother even if Apple paid me a monthly subscription to watch.

Interssting. Can you elucidate what exactly strikes you as annoying about this content offering?

 

[truthertech]

too bad most of the "competition" is owned or in partnership with each other.

Not sure what space your are referring to, but in the streaming business it's about as hot of competition as you can get. Many well funded companies competing, such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Youtube/Google, CBS, etc., and soon two industry giants that striking fear, Apple and Disney. That's the rub for Netflix in particular, they will have difficulty in raising prices enough to keep up with rising prices for content because there is so much competition.
[doublepost=1518201317][/doublepost]

That is speculation on your part. Neither of us know what their intentions are or what they have succeeded/failed at doing.

What was widely believed and reported when Apple first started negotiating with cable companies a few years ago was that they were trying to offer cable channels as apps a la carte (providing both live feeds and on demand) in Apple's own cable cut service. Basically the current apps from cable channels that you can use if you have a cable subscription without the cable subscription. I don't know if their plan or discussions went as far as to bundling channels together or if they wanted each channel subscription to be it's own thing.

The problem was, Apple wants their own percentage of what is bought through their platforms and cable companies balked at paying that percentage of their subscription fees to Apple when they can charge it directly to the consumer or continue to get their fees from hard wired cable companies.

In the meantime, DirecTV and a few other companies have done basically what Apple looks like they were trying to do, although in the case of DirecTV, the relationships were already established.

/QUOTE]


It was pretty well conceded that Apple wanted to move away from the dying" model of cable and offer an attractive bundle of ala carte channels for $30-40 per month. Problem is that cable companies knew this would only hasten their death. Apple eventually realized they were simply going to have to produce their own "bundle" consisting of their own original content, (and here's where I am speculating), plus deals with partners wiling to join bundle, such as HBO, Starz, etc. Once this launches this fall, it accelerate end of current cable companies model. I also predict that Apple will be able to offer an attractive "mega" entertainment bundle with Apple Music and Apple Video, and ready for it?, a revised Books package.


"https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-in-talks-to-launch-online-tv-service-1426555611

 

[BruceEBonus]

I never heard anything about it before seeing it in the cinema on a whim. I thought it was funny and pretty entertaining.

It wasn’t a bad film. Just unremarkable with a basic high concept. And simplistic plot.

 

[2010mini]

Not sure what space your are referring to, but in the streaming business it's about as hot of competition as you can get. Many well funded companies competing, such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Youtube/Google, CBS, etc., and soon two industry giants that striking fear, Apple and Disney. That's the rub for Netflix in particular, they will have difficulty in raising prices enough to keep up with rising prices for content because there is so much competition.
[doublepost=1518201317][/doublepost]

I was referring to live tv streaming. The big players are all tradition pay tv providers. So no real competition there.

 

[tennisproha]

With all these TV shows in the works I think Apple could be working to offer a TV subscription service.

Subscription iTunes for $40/month would be gold. Gold!

 

[jjhny]

Interssting. Can you elucidate what exactly strikes you as annoying about this content offering?

The humor is tiring to me. It's the Judd Apatow grossness - low brow comedy. There is so much low brow 'comedy' it is like a glut of crap. I experience they same when flipping through cable. It's a lowest common denominator wasteland. I'm not even sure how much lower it can go - though the entertainment in 'Idiocracy' gives a clue.

 

[RichardMZhlubb]

The humor is tiring to me. It's the Judd Apatow grossness - low brow comedy. There is so much low brow 'comedy' it is like a glut of crap. I experience they same when flipping through cable. It's a lowest common denominator wasteland. I'm not even sure how much lower it can go - though the entertainment in 'Idiocracy' gives a clue.

I’m curious if you’ve seen The Big Sick, because the last phrases I would use to describe it are “low brow” and “gross.” I found it extremely smart and well done. The one complaint I have heard is from folks who wanted more humor, but I haven’t heard anyone complain that it was too low brow.

 

[barbu]

I’m curious if you’ve seen The Big Sick, because the last phrases I would use to describe it are “low brow” and “gross.” I found it extremely smart and well done. The one complaint I have heard is from folks who wanted more humor, but I haven’t heard anyone complain that it was too low brow.

I'm am forced to wonder if he has seen very much of Apatow's work at all... I wouldn't describe his work on the absolutely brilliant Larry Sanders show or the terrific Freaks and Geeks as low brow. He has done some Hollywood movies that are maybe not super high-minded but they have all been solid work (and certainly not "gross"). Maybe jjhny is thinking of someone else? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[zapmymac]

Here I thought they were making a docu-series about Little America truck stops!

 

[eroslws]

It was always going to be this way. Once everyone gets their differing services up and running, we're going to see the wheat separate from the chaff. Then we'll start to see the consolidation. After that we'll be right back a few major players. That a-la-carte dream some had isn't and never was going to materialize.

Kinda like how people always wanted to separate plans from phones and hated contracts. The phone companies did just that, then raised prices on the plans, removed subsidies, and equivalent plans today are at least $25 more per line than in the past. Oh and now they offer “deals” over 30 months, so there’s always a 2.5 year contract option.