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Apple TV Gains CBS All Access, NBC, and Made to Measure Channels

Chupa Chupa said:
Not entirely sure what you are trying to say, but just because a U.S. based network has the right to broadcast an event or show doesn't mean they have that right in Brazil or anywhere else except the U.S. On pay TV there are available subscriptions to just about every major sports league on the planet. I don't think Apple would block them on ATV, it's just a matter of what the business model is of the respective leagues and whether they want to be on ATV.
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What I am saying is there is the potential revenue stream by bypassing the providers that would otherwise be the only avenues to air that content in another country. Similar to how Star Trek: The Next Generation was aired. In Star Trek: The Original Series, production was made at DesiLu Studios, and aired only via NBC. TNG had no such obligation, as they went straight for syndication which had no contract with a given network provider.

Another analogy would be how the iPhone was exclusively ATT's until that deal expired. Look at how that exploded in the US the day that contract ended.

Do the same here, with sports, and not just US-based sports, but sports around the world. Instead of going through Fox Sports to watch the AFL or Rugby (which we have to do in the US), drop them, take it to something like ATV or another box (Roku, Chromecast, etc.), and have the content streamed everywhere to those who own such hardware.

In short, get rid of the rights and exclusivity. If it worked for the iPhone, it could work for content elsewhere.

BL.
 
jpgr15 said:
Regarding cutting the cord, I am referring to coaxial. Not literally every cord. Obviously we still need those danged Internet and power cords.

I just believe there has got to be a better way. That is all.
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I agree completely. There has to be a better way. We just keep mentioning a la carte as if it's some sort of panacea. The idea of a la carte in it's present state is untenable. I can honestly say I don't know what the answer is, but a la carte ain't it.
 
Cuban Missles said:
Soooooo True. Apple diminishes it's "TV" value when it requires a cable subscription. Tim - if I have a set top box from my cable company, I really don't need the ATV. Get Eddy to make a better deal, otherwise you are really undermining the value proposition of the device.
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Exactly why I won't be buying one. I'm through with cable. If Apple had a Netflix-type service that captioned all its offerings and didn't require any third-party subscriptions/logins, I'd be interested. They don't, so I'm not. (Don't tell me "But they have CBS" when I say I want CSI. If I wanted this All Access crap, I wouldn't have had a need to look into the Apple TV.)
 
CBS All Access is a joke. Most of it's content is available on Hulu Plus and it has missing episodes of it's classic shows that are on Hulu as well.

They don't even give you the option to use a cable provider if you wanted to. You have to pay for their sub par service regardless.
 
So I tried the NBC channel just now. You can forward and reverse through the content but not the commercials. There are 90 seconds of commercials in the traditional chapter divisions. It has a Netflix like interface to the next episode. The next episode autoplayed. The commercials are currently very repetitive, and there are promos for their other shows. They are not repetitive.

It was free to access and view and the only limitation seems to be a time delay for new content.
 
Cool. I was waiting for this CBS. Hopefully I can subscribe thru iTunes for CBS All Access.
 
I still don't understand why we have to sign in with a cable login or subscribe (like CBS) for these channels that are already free. I suppose the on-demand part is a bonus, but if it's already free why do we have to do it?

I cut the cord years ago, but unfortunately in the two places I've lived (one apartment in Austin, one in LA), I just can't get OTA channels to work. Maybe it's the antennas I'm buying, but no channel comes in clean, so I was hoping that free streaming channels would one day be available.

I know this is off-topic, but does anyone have advice on getting OTA to work? Do I need an antenna that costs in the $100 range?
 
Rocketman said:
So I tried the NBC channel just now. You can forward and reverse through the content but not the commercials. There are 90 seconds of commercials in the traditional chapter divisions. It has a Netflix like interface to the next episode. The next episode autoplayed. The commercials are currently very repetitive, and there are promos for their other shows. They are not repetitive.

It was free to access and view and the only limitation seems to be a time delay for new content.
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Authentication keeps failing for me.
 
zorinlynx said:
So tired of this "cable provider authentication" crap...

If they want cord cutting to take off they really need to end that requirement. I couldn't even watch the baseball game Sunday night because FS1 wanted a cable provider login.
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I agree, there is no point in using these apps if you have to have a cable subscription other than if you have an AppleTV hooked up to a TV some place in your house that doesn't also have a cable/SAT box hooked up to it. This isn't "cord cutting" and being able to drop your cable/SAT provider. Psshhhh.
 
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oneofakind said:
:)Awesome, CBS All access is finally on the Apple TV Platform. I'm assuming you won't need to have an existing cable subscription..Ahh Can't wait to start working for CBS interactive next month!
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It is an iTunes Store subscription. Not a freebie. I signed up. First thing I tried on live t.v. said not all programming is available and it wasn't. I wanted local channels, and Ellen Show didn't work. I don't care about Ellen, but I'd like local news and national news live via my local channel. So far not so good. Yes, I can do over the air. But with Hulu+ I'm already beginning to doubt if this is worthwhile for my needs.
 
Ray Brady said:
It's not pointless at all. Your cable box provides the daily scheduled programming. The Apple TV gives access to an extensive library of past episodes on demand. It's the same basic idea as HBO Go.
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Umm I have DirecTV and it has a ton of OnDemand network programming that equates to a service like HuluPlus where I can watch NBC, CBS, ABC shows when I want and I'm sure Comcast has the same, so what he said is true, if you have a cable box, you don't also need an AppleTV for the exact same content but you have to pay for the cable in order to access the same content on the AppleTV that's sitting right next to the cable box. Now how stupid is that?
 
Rocketman said:
I have CNBC authorized on my Apple TV. Maybe that explains it. I had it authorized via Charter. On that channel there is irritating music where the commercials belong. Commercials would be less annoying.
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Got it to work.

The NBC authentication page just said "unknown error" then failed. CNBC gave me a reason, which was third-party cookies were blocked in Firefox.

Thanks!
 
vertical smile said:
This is a nice addition, but long over due.

Authenticating the channels could be changed in some way to make it easier and quicker. It is also annoying that the channel has to be re-authenticated so often.

A lot of people support it, but I do not like the idea of a one log-in to authenticate all the channels unless it was optional.
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I wouldn't mind having the "option" to have the log-in name and password stored on the device. It is already one login (cable account sign-in) anyway.
 
I just saw some pixelation on playback. But I have been seeing it on my "cable" TV signal as well, but this was colored. Ads for drug free.org so those are probably unpaid. Saw a GE commercial that is on heavy rotation on CNBC as well. Could just be different file formats between Apple, NBC and Charter.
 
bradl said:
Do the same here, with sports, and not just US-based sports, but sports around the world. Instead of going through Fox Sports to watch the AFL or Rugby (which we have to do in the US), drop them, take it to something like ATV or another box (Roku, Chromecast, etc.), and have the content streamed everywhere to those who own such hardware.

In short, get rid of the rights and exclusivity. If it worked for the iPhone, it could work for content elsewhere.

BL.
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It's understood that the content producer has the unfettered ability to distribute its works as they wish. I doubt they haven't thought about what you are suggested, ran the numbers, and decided selling the rights is a more lucrative way, easier way to go for them. This is especially true when you are talking about niche sports like Rugby in the U.S. or with TV shows that have to be translated and edited to conform to local content regulations.

Even "big" sports like the NFL are not immune here. They could tell Sunday Ticket subscriptions one by one @ NFL.com like MLB does. They could license to every cable company, DISH, and DTV like MLB does. But they likely make just as much $ with the DTV deal plus take none of the financial risks.

We'll see if content makers make ATV exclusive content but I doubt that would be profitable to any company except maybe a startup that happened to have great production values.

Ray Brady said:
It's not pointless at all. Your cable box provides the daily scheduled programming. The Apple TV gives access to an extensive library of past episodes on demand. It's the same basic idea as HBO Go.
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Well that depends on your cable service. But Dish, DTV, Comcast's X1, and TWC at the least offer interactive menus and extensive free on demand of past shows from the major networks, pay movie channels, and many of the basic cable channels.
 
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afsalva said:
Are all these channels in AppleTV stream live channel as well?
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The new NBC app does not. CBS will offer it in cities where they own the station. As of a couple of weeks ago, it wasn't available in Chicago on the All Access app.

eta: Just checked and CBS is live streaming my local news.
 
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