Nope, read the article before posting. They’re reportedly going to offer discounted bundles of other streaming services, like HBO, Starz, Showtime, Crunchy Roll, BritBox, etc. No curation whatsoever of that content.
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Apple Plans to Sell Bundles of Cable TV Channels Through New Streaming Service
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Of course.
Should it ever come to Europe, though, I hope Apple will be smart enough to copy some of Netflix's best features:
- Original language versions (everything from English over Korean over Swedish...)
- Original language subtitles (oh yeah, when you're hearing impaired like I am, this is something you will really appreciate -- and preferably English subtitles for everything even if it's not the original language)
Yeah, guess what -- my native language is German, but I just hate dubbed movies.
And there's one more thing: I need to be able to watch that content on my Amazon Fire Stick AND in the Firefox web browser on Ubuntu Linux. Yes, I can do that with Netflix. And yes, it's a deal breaker if that doesn't work. Why? Because I use neither Windows nor macOS at home. (Nah, it's not entirely true -- I have a Blue Iris server running to control my IP cameras, but that's not what I use for work or web surfing or entertainment.)
If Apple will have an attractive content library that meets all those requirements AND at the same time won't be more expensive than Netflix, then this could actually be interesting.
But my guess is: iOS first, maybe lackluster macOS support, no Linux support whatsoever, and only family friendly Disney-like content, probably only in crappy localized versions and definitely without subtitles.
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Yeah, that's interesting. I quit doing that... 20 years ago. And no, I'm not kidding or exaggerating. I haven't watched "traditional" TV in two decades. DVDs, sure. Downloaded/offline movies, of course. Streaming, absolutely. But TV? Absolutely not. I don't even recognize any of those faces anymore that I sometimes see being advertised (in magazines or online articles) as "TV stars". You wouldn't believe how inefficient a lot of those ads are if you don't know any of these so-called prominent persons anymore...
I think you’ll get individual channels, but not shows (at least at rollout; maybe eventually). If you subscribe to multiple chann you’ll get discounted pricing. Sort of a build-your-own-bundle from a list of a la carte options.
Of course, there might be some provider bundles, so maybe Turner with CNN+TBS+TNT +Cartoon Network+Adult Swim or whatever. I think the owner would decide whether they bundle their channels together, or let you pick and choose individual channels for a (hopefully much) lower, reasonable price.
So basically this is going to be a skinny bundle plus original content from Apple. I wonder if there will be an option for just subscribing to Apple’s original content? And I assume Apple is hosting/streaming the content so they can justify getting a cut?
Could be interesting, so long as I never have to watch anything live, it has no commercials or skippable commercials, and video quality is outstanding.
Most streaming services fail #2, injecting mandatory commercials.
DirecTV Now has a "DVR", but it was plagued with problems like "recordings" missing big chunks of time, which you would think impossible since broadcast interruptions due to weather and whatnot aren't a thing with streaming, and video quality even worse than Comcast. They have a reputation for video quality, but that's only their live streams. Their DVR streams are downrezzed to 720p and have about 1/3 the bit rate for video and 1/4 for audio, compared to live. Faces are smeared and unrecognizable in long shots, sports are completely unwatchable. DVR products for other streaming services aren't much better, they all give you crap because they really want you to watch live.
Most streaming services fail #2, injecting mandatory commercials.
DirecTV Now has a "DVR", but it was plagued with problems like "recordings" missing big chunks of time, which you would think impossible since broadcast interruptions due to weather and whatnot aren't a thing with streaming, and video quality even worse than Comcast. They have a reputation for video quality, but that's only their live streams. Their DVR streams are downrezzed to 720p and have about 1/3 the bit rate for video and 1/4 for audio, compared to live. Faces are smeared and unrecognizable in long shots, sports are completely unwatchable. DVR products for other streaming services aren't much better, they all give you crap because they really want you to watch live.
Good luck with skippable commercials. I’m sure Apple will have nothing to say about that.
It’s not the first service, what I meant was it’s the first I’ve used.
And no they don’t, Spotify has 83 million paid subscribers.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.th...aid-subscribers-q3-earnings-update-87-million
No TV-streaming service will usurp our cable subscription without offering HGTV and live sports.
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Things can get complicated sometimes when companies like Apple venture outside the US, even if it’s just over the border into Canada. Tighter government regulations, stricter scrutiny, difficulty in obtaining licensing deals overseas, additional costs, unforeseen resistance (like German banks with Apple Pay), lack of interest among the general population, competition, cultural issues, etc. SlingTV, Sony PS Vue and YouTube TV haven’t had the success in the US many were predicting years ago so you can’t blame Apple for testing the waters here first and taking it slow. It’s possible that Apple’s TV streaming service will never make it out of the US if it’s not successful here because Apple knows if it fails here where Apple is a dominant force, there’s a significant chance it will fail elsewhere where Apple controls a much smaller share of the market.
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Have you tried watching "TV" on the AppleTV these days? It's a huge mess of many different apps, some requiring their own monthly subscriptions (like Netflix), or sports packages for individual sports (like NFL), or a cable service (like Comcast), no live TV whatsoever, no over-the-air channels, no "à la carte" sports/music/... events, no foreign TV channels, etc... etc...
And then when you add everything you pay for, including the cost of your Internet connection, the good old days of Cable TV seem like a bargain. Whatever Steve Jobs was thinking when he said that he "cracked it", there's no way Apple today will not add to the murkiness of the landscape and make me lough out loud at the offer which will be too expensive and without the channels I want to watch. This will be the most boring Apple announcement in years!
And then when you add everything you pay for, including the cost of your Internet connection, the good old days of Cable TV seem like a bargain. Whatever Steve Jobs was thinking when he said that he "cracked it", there's no way Apple today will not add to the murkiness of the landscape and make me lough out loud at the offer which will be too expensive and without the channels I want to watch. This will be the most boring Apple announcement in years!
Yep, no way they can pull this off outside of the US. So if you're a big fan of series made by Reese Witherspoon or Spielberg look for "other ways" to watch it.
When my tv aerial was down due to building work I used The TVPlayer app to watch tv , it was surprisingly good
Shame about the content
Shame about the content
I'd like to see how Apple can do the same blocking as Hulu does..... I don't think they can do it..
TV today is very challenging to get right because of all the regulations/rights/etc that blocks sort of that simple access that we all want. Apple has clearly taken as many steps as they can to get this right (single sign on, no sign on, TV app, etc.) for consumers, but there are still a ton of challenges in front of them. At some point though, the conglomerates will start to crack and we will have the sort of simple set up that we are looking for. Maybe the start of that is from Apple, maybe not. Either way, it takes a ton of time and effort to get right so I am not sure I fault Apple in this area.
I don't believe those count. I'm not sure the exact regulations, but it's something like 50%+ of the entire production, has to be Canadian. Including production company, writers, etc. most of these shows just film on location.
Imagine if Netflix were to add live channels and cable content to their streaming service? I feel like they would take over the world.... They would just offer it to their current subscribers for about $10 or $15 more a month.
Anyway I'll be curious to see what Apple comes up with but they would really have to knock my socks off for me to drop PS VUE, I love it, great app, all the channels I need, awesome price, and I can add the redzone channel during football season.
Anyway I'll be curious to see what Apple comes up with but they would really have to knock my socks off for me to drop PS VUE, I love it, great app, all the channels I need, awesome price, and I can add the redzone channel during football season.
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How hard is it for these companies to offer just a sports package? I only want ESPN, NFL, BTN, etc.
Fantastically difficult. The sports broadcasting licensing business is one of the most complicated and money grubbing businesses out there.
It goes along with what I said in my other post. Disney/ABC/ESPN pay a ton of money for the sports rights to what they carry. They want to make that money back so they are going to make you subscribe to all their channels, not just ESPN and ABC.
NBC/Universal pay a ton of money for the rights to the sports they show, so they are going to want you to subscribe to all their channels not just NBC Sports, etc.
Same with CBS, Fox (Fox still owns Fox Sports, Fox News, and the broadcast channel), etc.
NBC/Universal pay a ton of money for the rights to the sports they show, so they are going to want you to subscribe to all their channels not just NBC Sports, etc.
Same with CBS, Fox (Fox still owns Fox Sports, Fox News, and the broadcast channel), etc.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Disney release their Disney+ library on whatever Apple streaming service is released. It makes sense to me that there will be some sort of collaboration. With Apple releasing Airplay support across many devices recently, I wouldn't be surprised to see them release an Apple Streaming app across all of them as well. Imagine how valuable that would be for Disney to not have to host all of their own content, but to let Apple do it!
Not sure what form it will take outside the US, but Apple’s streaming service is reportedly launching in 100+ countries by the end of the year. Could just be Apple’s original content in some/most countries, or maybe they’ll make deals with other subscription services in various countries and sell bundles, like they’re doing in the US.
That would be great. Especially if they offered the Weather Channel live stream.
But probably not. TWC seems mired in ancient cable TV contracts that always bundle a ton of crappy channels, such as the 700 Club (pardon me while I puke) and the like.
What happened to the a la carte movement? Wait, I know the answer...