Apple Requires Comcast and Charter to Sell iPads and Apple TVs as Part of iPhone Deal

[BuffaloTF]

No they weren't! Verizion and Sprint was kicking their ass! They needed signups and they gave in to everyone of Apple's request!

Yeah... no.

Cingular was the largest in the nation and had the most comprehensive network. Sprint has never kicked anyone's ass at any point in history. Verizon passing them is a 10s thing, and right now they seemingly bounce back and forth on who is the largest every quarter. Cingular's willingness to accommodate Apple on their requests was more about how restrictive Verizon was at the time, and how open GSM was.

https://www.statista.com/statistics...bile-cellular-services-since-2000-by-company/
[doublepost=1560517896][/doublepost]

No license, no chips. If you want to buy the chips, you have to buy a license first.

Typical hypocrite apple. Complaining about things they themselves do.

No license, no chips... is double dipping. When you buy a complete product, in this case a modem, that license was already included in the cost - it had to be licensed to use the patents for the producer to manufacture it in the first place.

What Qualcomm was doing, and has lost every court case on planet earth so far regarding, was making the product purchaser buy the license on top of the already-licensed finished product. And they wanted to charge 20% of the product sold for that license. Do the math on the difference between a $50 modem and a $1000 phone on how much they wanted to charge......

 

[Bawstun]

Things must be getting bad for Apple sales to force this.

Oh yeah. They’re hurting bad and hemorrhaging marketshare fast. The snowball effect from lack of innovation, brand image, and price gouging has begun. Tim Cook simply must be fired to preserve the future of Apple.

Still, nobody sees the downfall coming. Quite baffling.
[doublepost=1560520368][/doublepost]

Geez, can we stop with the always speculative doom and gloom nonsense?

This is normal business, just like pricing changes, promotions, etc. Welcome to Wallstreet where you consistently have to sell more stuff in the same period of time.

And guess what? Are Comcast and Charter American companies? Revenues in the Americas region hit all time records. Apple is NOT struggling in the US.

Almost all of their sales pressure has come from China. They still managed to put up $60B in PROFIT in 2018, or more than twice Google, as an example.

Apple is THE most profitable company in the world and doesn't need tips on sales execution. They are THE best at making money and this is just another way to do that.

Hate on though.

You simply don’t get it. Money means nothing - STOP focusing on their cash on hand or their revenue YOY. It is brand image that makes Apple - built Apple - sustains Apple.

They horrendously and famously ruined their stores under Angela’s leadership, their marketshare has tanked on devices, and their China problems are ruining brand image *and* marketshare.

Tim Cook simply must be fired, or Apple has about 10 years of remaining relevant before the iPhone goes the way of the iPod. This is going to happen, whether ty hyperfocus on their cash or not. It’s a psychological thing - not business.

 

[DaveN]

Here are the parts of the story that annoy me. CNBC is owned by Comcast as CNBC discloses at the end of the article. Ok. They disclosed it. Now Comcast isn't selling the iPads at a 'subsidized' cost as the article claims but at a discounted price. At the price Comcast is charging it is likely that they are making a profit from each iPad sale and not subsidizing anything. On the other hand, Charter is selling AppleTVs at full retail price and is therefore making a profit off each sale. Granted they are not making as much as they would by leasing their cable modem to the customer as the customer is required to return it if and when they cancel service but by selling the AppleTV to the customer, Charter is also not having to deal with outdated equipment and refurbishing old modems for new users. Bottom line is that CNBC and Comcast could have chosen less inflammatory wording in the article.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I'm sure that Charter box is not much good after closing the subscription. Same as IPTV modems here in Europe. They're too customized and can't be used with any other carrier. So it makes sense to return it, at least it doesn't get dumped in the trash.

Cable equipment can be a hazard. Most of them were used in other homes. And as much as they wipe down the equipment clean to be used again, they don't open them unless they change a cable card. Many of the cable boxes and modems have roaches, bedbugs, spiders, and etc from previous customers.

 

[kemal]

Apple should force them to purchase for sale one Home Pod for every 11 iPhones. Really show them who their master is.

 

[Baymowe335]

Oh yeah. They’re hurting bad and hemorrhaging marketshare fast. The snowball effect from lack of innovation, brand image, and price gouging has begun. Tim Cook simply must be fired to preserve the future of Apple.

Still, nobody sees the downfall coming. Quite baffling.
[doublepost=1560520368][/doublepost]

You simply don’t get it. Money means nothing - STOP focusing on their cash on hand or their revenue YOY. It is brand image that makes Apple - built Apple - sustains Apple.

They horrendously and famously ruined their stores under Angela’s leadership, their marketshare has tanked on devices, and their China problems are ruining brand image *and* marketshare.

Tim Cook simply must be fired, or Apple has about 10 years of remaining relevant before the iPhone goes the way of the iPod. This is going to happen, whether ty hyperfocus on their cash or not. It’s a psychological thing - not business.

Nice doom and gloom story with zero facts and after Apple posted its best years ever under Cook/Angela.

I'm not a huge Angela fan and she likely got fired over China, but let's not act like Apple is struggling. They aren't a market share strategy company. They are a profit strategy company and they made $60B in profit in 2018.

You have no evidence or facts that the brand image is "ruined." They posted record profit last year, their brand value INCREASED 3% according to Forbes, and they set revenue records in several countries including North America.

Shareholders don't want Cook fired because we know he's doing a great job. Apple has outperformed the market during his leadership. Sales mean EVERYTHING.

Post some facts. Don't just speak in these broad generalities.

This deal with Charter and Comcast is just another example of EXECUTION of strategy and contributes to the RECORD revenues in America.

 

[Chazz08]

Hmm

 

[Pootie Tang]

Well said! And on top of that the Apple Board of Directors (the only people who can fire Tim Cook) are big Tim Cook supporters, especially Robert Iger, CEO of Disney and Al Gore, the former Vice President. It is likely that Tim Cook will be CEO for 7 more years and retire at age 65.

 

[BuffaloTF]

Ummm.
1. Why does a box that only works with one provider cost as much as an Apple TV? Either the Apple TV is grossly under priced or the advertised cost of a cable box was paid off by the last customer who used it.
2. If you keep the provider box for more than 24 months why do you keep paying for it? There is no way it costs more than an Apple TV.

Costs more, actually. That’s a rental fee, not a purchase fee. Then you need to rent the remote too, at around $2.50 per month. I save considerable amounts of money by not using cable boxes and now I can have service at 1 tv or 100 at the same price.

 

[code-m]

Never understood this, why not just buy an unlocked/sim free phone from Apple or through their monthly payment plan and signup with any carrier of choice for cheap. How many retailers do we need to carry devices? Want a Pixel, purchase from Google and then go with any carrier. This just seems like a hustle to overcharge on phone plans. You know that unlimited plan does not cost $60 if you are getting an iPhone for an additional $20. It means that phone plan is actually $25-30 max per month.

 

[Gasu E.]

Actually this is called tying and is illegal if a company is doing it to exercise monopolistic control of a market (and no, they don't have to be a de facto monopoly to be interpreted as exercising monopolistic control).

That's a big if. Which, as far as I can see, would not come close to being applicable in this case. Would you actually argue that this is helping Apple achieve monopolistic control of the market for iPads and Apple TV? Clearly not. These are highly competitive markets segments and this bundling will not materially impact Apple's control of them.

As for the market for iPhones: they are effectively raising the price to Comcast for iPhones, which would diminish Apple's hypothetical monopolistic control of the market for iPhones, if such existed.

 

[BootsWalking]

That's a big if. Which, as far as I can see, would not come close to being applicable in this case. Would you actually argue that this is helping Apple achieve monopolistic control of the market for iPads and Apple TV? Clearly not. These are highly competitive markets segments and this bundling will not materially impact Apple's control of them.

As for the market for iPhones: they are effectively raising the price to Comcast for iPhones, which would diminish Apple's hypothetical monopolistic control of the market for iPhones, if such existed.

The legal standard is not whether the practice achieves monopolistic control but whether its purpose is to be anti-competitive, ie interfere or stifle competition.

 

[Focusx0131]

How about you require them to support Apple Watch too so I can switch.

I was in the Xfinity store today and they had a sign saying the watch is coming 6/28. Not sure if it’s only ones they sell or if you can bring your own but it’s a step in the right direction at least.

 

[ersan191]

I was in the Xfinity store today and they had a sign saying the watch is coming 6/28. Not sure if it’s only ones they sell or if you can bring your own but it’s a step in the right direction at least.

Yeah someone commented apparently it's launching on 6/28 - unfortunately it seems like Comcast business internet customers aren't eligible and Comcast doesn't serve my home county anymore soooo I guess I'm SOL.