CBS Open to Talks on Apple TV, Depending on "What We Get Paid"

[bushido]

Honest question - can you list for me which CBS sitcoms you think are great? Off the top of my head the only one I like is Big Bang Theory. And even that show which used to be great is now just good. But I'm always looking for great new comedies to watch, so please list some.

TBBT, How I Met Your Mother, even 2 Broke Girl is fun to watch even tho its utterly redic. its just the "type" of comedy i like, i cant stand the NBC sitcoms for example, i dont get the humor of shows like 30 Rock or Perks at all.

oh and "Partners" is starting on CBS this fall which seems pretty good judging from the promos

 

[maturola]

Oh, and make a different remote. The little aluminum sliver doesn't cut it as a remote for a primary entertainment device. At least give me something a little bigger so it isn't CONSTANTLY lost, with programable volume and power buttons to have at least basic control over other parts of my setup.

Oh god, please don't touch the remote apple, it is perfect right now

 

[Westside guy]

FAs for the payment. How about Apple takes about a third of their cash reserve and buys CBS?

The major networks are dying off - they're still stuck following a business model from the 1970s and haven't been able to adapt. I don't think buying one (or all) of them would make much sense.

These companies have had 30-40 years to figure out which way the wind was blowing, but, rather than looking ahead and figuring out they needed to adapt or die, they've opted to follow the record label approach of "this new world means less profits for us, so we're going to pretend it doesn't exist". The market will eventually solve this dilemma for them.

 

[MonsterRain]

I don't care about NBC. Give me access to HBO (Not HBO Go, I don't have cable)/Showtime/FX/Boomerang. That's all I really want.

 

[Orange Crane]

Harmony One, my friend. Harmony One.

Everyone I know who has a home theater has a universal remote of some kind.

Hell the remote that came with my tv operates apple tv unit perfectly. You just have to tell it to listen.

 

[motulist]

TBBT, How I Met Your Mother, even 2 Broke Girl is fun to watch even tho its utterly redic.

Okay, so you've listed the 1 show I already mentioned, 1 lame show (how I met your mother), and 1 show that it sounds like even you are only lukewarm about.

its just the "type" of comedy i like, i cant stand the NBC sitcoms for example, i dont get the humor of shows like 30 Rock or Perks at all.

Okay, this explains it. I LOVE 30 Rock, arrested development, and most of the other multi-camera no-laugh-track comedies. Parks and Rec I don't enjoy, but that's the worst one of the bunch.

But don't think I'm limited to that, I love over the top comedies with audience laughter also, like The Big Bang Theory. So it's not that my sense of humor doesn't include the *type* of comedies that CBS has, the issue is that at the moment CBS just doesn't have any good comedies besides The Big Bang Theory.

oh and "Partners" is starting on CBS this fall which seems pretty good judging from the promos

Well I'll give it a shot. For a long time CBS has been significantly better at delivering non-comedy shows.

 

[nickgri]

Apple TV

Offer film festival winners and Oscar winners from the past -some free with brief ads-some for like a dollar.

Advertisers can have ads that have clickable content-send a webpage to the ipad or iphone -or computer if they made the Apple TV remote have that option-put a flash drive in it-plug it in.

Than the advertisers actually get the people to visit their sites-isn't that what they want? How many times has each and every one of us said to ourselves while watching TV-oh that looks pretty good-then totally forgotten about it and never visited the web site to get more information! SIMPLE thing BOOKMARK the ads-they have DIGITAL information duh-Apple, I want a million after you make a billion on it! Nick Gencarelle

 

[theOtherGeoff]

Translation 2: we make all the content, we are the most watched netwotk in the nation, ( you don't even need cable. They do over the air in HD and sd ). Our parent company viacom is the largest media company in the country. You do it on our terms or you donr get our comtent.

Make no mistake, CBS holds the cards in this deal. Not apple.

Make No Mistake... CBS is trying to figure out how to cash out in a world where they may soon be cashed out of existence. CBS makes less margin than all of the major networks save for Fox (NewsCorp... which has major print media [dead] assets). In short, they are negotiating in the trades.

Viacom Market Cap: 24Billion... CBS Corp: 22B ... Apple can buy their cards;-) Statements from Moonves at this point are 'negotiating' They want value, but they are threatened by the ComCast purchase of NBC Universal.

Comcast at 93B and Disney at 88Billion are arguably much more valuable franchises, and have more leverage in the game. Comcast has the cable franchise, Disney is Disney (how many Walter Cronkite dolls were sold last year?)

CBS has to decide if they want to a) be standalone, b) sell out, c) align digitally with GOOG, or D) align with Apple (e: Amazon, f: netflix) . Right now, they are likely trying to get Google and Apple to start a content bidding war.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Make No Mistake... CBS is trying to figure out how to cash out in a world where they may soon be cashed out of existence. CBS makes less margin than all of the major networks save for Fox (NewsCorp... which has major print media [dead] assets). In short, they are negotiating in the trades.

Viacom Market Cap: 24Billion... CBS Corp: 22B ... Apple can buy their cards;-) Statements from Moonves at this point are 'negotiating' They want value, but they are threatened by the ComCast purchase of NBC Universal.

Comcast at 93B and Disney at 88Billion are arguably much more valuable franchises, and have more leverage in the game. Comcast has the cable franchise, Disney is Disney (how many Walter Cronkite dolls were sold last year?)

CBS has to decide if they want to a) be standalone, b) sell out, c) align digitally with GOOG, or D) align with Apple (e: Amazon, f: netflix) . Right now, they are likely trying to get Google and Apple to start a content bidding war.

Why ignore MS? MS already has deals w/other providers such as Verizon, Comcast, ESPN & ATT and is obviously gunning to be a one-stop-shop for living room entertainment and connectivity.

 

[DBDukes]

I'm still waiting for Apple to release an Apple TV iOS App so I cant watch shows on my iPhone anywhere.

Just curious: what can you watch on your Apple TV that you cannot watch on your iPhone? You can watch movies & TV from the iTunes store. There are apps for Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Crackle (and Crackle is not even available on Apple TV)

Just wondering what Apple TV has that you can't find for iPhone or iPad.

 

[nickgri]

remote

Oh god, please don't touch the remote apple, it is perfect right now

It needs to be able to send "BOOKMARK" to the computer!
Simple-worth millions!

 

[adeedew]

If you really want their content on the Apple TV, there are ways now. Plus, with Mountain Lion (on a newer Mac, yes, but at some point more people will have capable machines), it is almost a non issue.

Yup, any damn thing on the internet that streams can be mirrored up to the apple tv on the new macbook pro's excellently. No wires needed, for example hulu plus costs, but hulu is free on a computer, just mirror that content up to an apple tv, same goes for daily show with jon stewart, etc....wonder how long before they try to block mirroring...if that's even possible

 

[prezasti]

Just curious: what can you watch on your Apple TV that you cannot watch on your iPhone? You can watch movies & TV from the iTunes store. There are apps for Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Crackle (and Crackle is not even available on Apple TV)

Just wondering what Apple TV has that you can't find for iPhone or iPad.

Nothing really. It would be nice to have it all packaged into one App though rather than having tons of separate Apps.

 

[Aidyn's X]

It's obvious you just have a TV, and not a home theater. Your little silver remote won't even turn your TV on and off.

Wow, you must have the best remote in the whole wide world. This other guy is puny and must be scolded for the fact that he has simplified his life to be able to use a cheap remote efficiently.

 

[pittpanthersfan]

Probably because Aereo can broadcast their programming online without paying them: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/20/aereo-broadcasters-streams-networks-tv_n_1690173.html

 

[nutmac]

The major networks are dying off - they're still stuck following a business model from the 1970s and haven't been able to adapt. I don't think buying one (or all) of them would make much sense.

Agreed. The only solution that would appease everyone involved (major networks, local affiliates, and advertisers) would be to stream contents from local affiliate (with original ads and all), which would require major new infrastructure.

 

[johnnyrb]

Oh god, please don't touch the remote apple, it is perfect right now

It's great until the battery dies or some of the buttons stop working.

 

[Flitzy]

Well, if it's based on how much their shows are worth, I'll chip in the buffalo nickel and half blind cow....

 

[SBlue1]

We want NFL!

 

[flux73]

Forget trying to work out a deal with any of the content providers. Currently, they have the most leverage and they know it. In order to get leverage, Apple needs to kill off demand for cable and satellite. How? Plunk down a HUGE chunk of change to get exclusive rights to stream any and all NFL games. They already have MLB, NHL, and NBA. If they can get NFL, it would be HUGE. They should also pay ESPN handsomely to be able to stream ESPN 1, 2, and 3. If they can do that, cable and satellite subscriptions would drop like flies. Once they start falling, I suspect content providers will be a little more open minded about other revenue streams.

 

[Darien Red Sox]

Oh, and make a different remote. The little aluminum sliver doesn't cut it as a remote for a primary entertainment device. At least give me something a little bigger so it isn't CONSTANTLY lost, with programable volume and power buttons to have at least basic control over other parts of my setup.

If you don't like the Apple remote get a universal remote,from day 1 I have programed my AT&T remote to work with the Apple TV, Blu-ray and the TV. Have not used any of the other remotes.

----------

Forget trying to work out a deal with any of the content providers. Currently, they have the most leverage and they know it. In order to get leverage, Apple needs to kill off demand for cable and satellite. How? Plunk down a HUGE chunk of change to get exclusive rights to stream any and all NFL games. They already have MLB, NHL, and NBA. If they can get NFL, it would be HUGE. They should also pay ESPN handsomely to be able to stream ESPN 1, 2, and 3. If they can do that, cable and satellite subscriptions would drop like flies. Once they start falling, I suspect content providers will be a little more open minded about other revenue streams.

This would be nice, although what about content providers bandwidth caps on the internet connection they also provide you? Many of them all ready have them and others would jump on the bandwagon when they saw the opportunity to stop the movement to the Apple TV.

 

[Slow Programmer]

I am surprised to learn that CBS is even still around. I have not watched them in years.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Forget trying to work out a deal with any of the content providers. Currently, they have the most leverage and they know it. In order to get leverage, Apple needs to kill off demand for cable and satellite. How? Plunk down a HUGE chunk of change to get exclusive rights to stream any and all NFL games. They already have MLB, NHL, and NBA. If they can get NFL, it would be HUGE. They should also pay ESPN handsomely to be able to stream ESPN 1, 2, and 3. If they can do that, cable and satellite subscriptions would drop like flies. Once they start falling, I suspect content providers will be a little more open minded about other revenue streams.

Considering the NFL just re-upped its TV contracts worth bilion dollars I doubt this will happen anytime soon and DirecTV already got in bed w/Sony to bring the NFL Sunday ticket to PSN so that route is out too.

Honestly, if NFL Network is any indication I think we'll see NFL make its own for-pay app and stream games directly to consumers across all devices before I'd see them making a deal w/another middle man like Apple, MS or Sony. Same goes for ESPN and HBO. Once their cable contracts are up I wouldn't be surprised to see a wording in a new contract that allows HBOGO (and a similar type app from ESPN) to become a paid app available to anyone. No, not everyone wants to handle their own distribution and the overhead that comes w/it but if anyone was going to do it I'd think it would be large, in demand channels like ESPN and HBO.

 

[theOtherGeoff]

Why ignore MS? MS already has deals w/other providers such as Verizon, Comcast, ESPN & ATT and is obviously gunning to be a one-stop-shop for living room entertainment and connectivity.

yes they are. my omission (sorry, Steve Ballmer!;-)

I would posit however, that MS's model just 'adds' layers. Apple/Google/Amzn are all trying to remove layers, which increases profits for the remaining players, which is what CBS is looking for.

 

[DBDukes]

How is the XBOX 360 a competitor for the Apple TV? Have you ever actually used the xbox for watching tv? The UI is a freaking mess. navigate a 100 menus and sign into and out of apps just to watch a show.

I would say Roku is biggest competitor hands down! I even sold my Apple TV to buy a Roku and have not looked back.

Yes, the menu hell is, well, hell. But, with a Live Gold account, the XBox 360 does offer a good bit of entertainment options: Netflix, Hulu Plus, MLB.tv, YouTube, that Apple TV carries. Plus, content you don't get on Apple TV: Crackle, ESPN3, Amazon Instant Video, plus some cable/satellite associated channels like HBO GO and EPiX.

If someone is shopping for a device like an Apple TV, Roku would be the primary alternative, but Xbox is another. I have all three. Xbox is my least favorite of the three, but, I do consider it a competitor to Apple TV.