Four More TV Execs Join Apple's Video Content Team

[EdT]

I am not a fan of most of the media surges that are occurring, including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Disney and now Apple. But everybody getting into their very own buy it from us or see it nowhere service isn't surprising. It's making money. And since everyone is buying production companies you can't just be a distributor anymore, the way Netflix and Hulu got started. You've got to either own a huge and popular library (Disney) or start making your own content.

Don't like it? Think that everybody shouldn't set up their own production and distribution? Then don't buy into it, at all. The thinking now is that you can't make as much money splitting the profits with a production company and a distribution network as you can if you are all those things yourself. And at least initially, this seems to be correct. At some point there will be too many one or two hit wonder streaming services that still need to have SOMETHING for people to watch beyond their few hit shows and seldom watching anything else there, and people will also tire of paying 6 or 7 providers to get what they used to get from just Netflix, HBO and/or Hulu, when 90% of the shows aren't popular. But it will take time to reach those tipping points.

 

[D.T.]

Company that started with selling computers - now producing "planet of the apps" featuring Gwyneth Kate Paltrow and will.i.am.

The point is: any company, regardless of their core business intent, or failed attempts at original programming, can - with the right talent acquistion and creative leeway - produce outstanding content. FX had The Shield, but also Testees, AMC had Feed the Beast, but gave us Madmen and Breaking Bad, anyone can have a swing and miss, I think Apple's own content is poorly conceived, which is why I made it _clear_ good content has to be developed using external talent with hands off from the Apple PTB.

 

[PizzaBoxStyle]

You mean not relevant to Apple specifically right? Because if that's what you meant I would agree with you. If you meant for the entire industry then I have to disagree(the content just gets better and better and the volume gets bigger and bigger). iTunes being the bloated mess that it is definitely hasn't helped. Apple is just behind, it's sad and simple. Spotify beat them to the subscription model for music and Audible(and others) beat them to subscriptions for Audiobooks. The "but I like to own my stuff!" people are just a small but vocal crowd meanwhile the majority love the new model: streaming and unlimited.

Quick shout out to Pocket Casts which has been a solid podcast experience. Has gotten me so entrenched in podcasts I've moved onto audiobooks now.

Re: Audiobooks... my public library has hoopla and overdrive. Together, they cover me pretty well. Many probably don't even need a subscription to audible. Check your local lib first!

 

[FelixDerKater]

They can now make a streaming service that costs more than a top-tier cable package with less features. Innovating!

 

[ipedro]

Here´s my problem with Apple getting into the content making:

Today's Apple is too vanilla, they would never make anything controversial or not light-hearted. They are too concerned about their image and trying to please all kinds of groups. And to make artful, meaningful content, you usually can´t have that. Can you see Apple producing movies or tv-shows with violence, nudity, drugs, or even strong language? I sure can´t :/

Disney has survived for a century on a clean content formula.

I’m sure Apple would be fine. It’s not like AppleTV is a gated community where other content producers can’t be accessed. Let them provide that type of content.

 

[star_nerdy]

My concern with so many content creators is the lack of quality.

As is, there are a lot of people getting TV shows that shouldn't and a lot of good ideas being poorly executed.

With hundreds of channels, tons of content creators and only so many ideas, I'm worried we'll get a ton of watered down TV shows instead of a handful of really amazing shows.

Even worse, we'll have a few good shows on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, CBS, etc and it'll just result in a super segmented situation where we have to have multiple subscriptions because our favorite show is on another service.

 

[somethingelsefl]

Remember when NBC's Brian Williams interviewed Tim Cook and asked what keeps Apple from becoming what happened to Sony in late 90s?

Tim Cook replied Apple's "LASER-FOCUS" on only core products and software that they do best.

This sure seems like a lack of focus to me. At its worst.

 

[InfoTime]

Would love to see the look on Tim Cook's face one day when he tours one of their new studios, and sees the creative people using PCs and Windows.

 

[jsmith189]

I'm sure those TV execs would have done great engineering new Macs...

Exactly. Can we stop acting like companies this large can only have a singular focus, and somehow delving into other areas means *what "little" resource is available* is being taken away for other things. That's not how it works.

 

[drewyboy]

A few of these guys will end up leaving in a year or two and then some folks here will say something like "they just couldn't cut it" or "apple is fine without them". So remember that to all the folks saying this is such a great thing. It's just natural. Some stay, some leave. Doesn't mean anything is doomed but it also doesn't mean the employee was trash.
[doublepost=1504756609][/doublepost]

Exactly. Can we stop acting like companies this large can only have a singular focus, and somehow delving into other areas means *what "little" resource is available* is being taken away for other things. That's not how it works.

Tell that to the company that has pulled developers away from finishing up MacOS to finish up iOS for a bit a couple of the past years.

 

[Naaaaak]

All that focus.

 

[Glassed Silver]

Remember back when we mostly had hardware and software rumors on this site? I remember people used to complain when iPhone came out that there were too many iPhone stories and not enough Mac stories. Little did they know how much more things would change in the future. At least the iPhone is a type of computer. Now we're subjected to entertainment news, political news, car news, and more. I'm not blaming MacRumors—I'm blaming Apple. What is the goal of this? Does Apple making movies improve people's lives any more than WB or Netflix making movies? Apple often says they enter new markets when it makes sense and they can add something to it. What are they adding? How does this enrich consumer experience? Why does Apple need to be in this space right now?

Don't be fooled, Apple enters markets that it can generate high margins with.

Glassed Silver:win

 

[scaramoosh]

I have the last Apple TV and used it twice.... the thing is terrible. I wish it worked like Chromecast as Apples remote is *****.

 

[Abazigal]

Can you explain why it’s a good idea for Apple to get into the content business? Apple dominated music with iTunes and iPod but they never became a record label. Why now the need to be come Sony?

https://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2016/10/20/apples-trojan-horse-into-hollywood

The gist is it is that having your own original video content will become an integral part of any ecosystem. The article I linked above goes into it in greater detail.

I suspect this is why Siri was recently taken from Eddy Cue's portfolio and given to Craig. It's not meant to be a demotion or an admission that he's doing a bad job with it. Instead, Tim Cook intends to free up Eddy so he can focus on Apple's upcoming video streaming efforts.

In short, Eddy is being groomed for even greater responsibilities, and he will go on to play an even greater role at Apple, not less.

 

[400]

What are the chances of content and ISP in one package in the US from Apple? Take-up ISP from Apple and do not pay for the streaming bandwidth for Apple content.

 

[Smartass]

I suspect this is why Siri was recently taken from Eddy Cue's portfolio and given to Craig. It's not meant to be a demotion or an admission that he's doing a bad job with it. Instead, Tim Cook intends to free up Eddy so he can focus on Apple's upcoming video streaming efforts.

In short, Eddy is being groomed for even greater responsibilities, and he will go on to play an even greater role at Apple, not less.

Well, considering what kind of useless piece of crap Siri really is after all these years, i think we have noooothing to worry about when it comes to Apple video streaming efforts.

 

[bollman]

I think Apple is well aware of the fact that even if they rule the smartphone business today, there are several companies breathing down their necks. They really need to expand their ecosystem to stay relevant and interesting to the crowd.
I don't think iOS or any operating system will be the main selling point of any device in the future, it will be all about the ecosystem that comes with it.
So far, Google/Android is a bit messy, but they're quickly catching up to Apple and unless Apple brings other essential stuff to the table, people are going to switch platform. And, people will do so a lot more often depending on their interest.

I think that the board at Apple is a lot more concerned about the outcome of Apple's services than the hardware and I expect more and more funds being poured into expanding services in the years to come.

They really nailed it with the smartphone, hitting the market at the exact right moment. They sort of missed the streaming audio craze and are trying hard to catch up, and the same goes for streaming video content, but that market hasn't really solidified as the streaming audio market yet. I bet they run like frightened rabbits to get ahead of other offerings hoping to hit it high with their service while at the same time working very hard at spotting the next big thing.

That's why we see Apple expanding to new areas, not because they want to, but because they need to.

 

[cjbryce]

IMO Apple could do well in this arena. However they may need to formulate a bit of a shopping list along the lines of:-

Netflix (valuation today of c$78Bn - so say $100Bn to acquire)
Disney (valuation today of c$165Bn - so say $200Bn to acquire)
Time Warner/HBO (valuation today of c$77Bn - so say $100Bn to acquire)​

So c$400Bn to acquire three major players and current Apple cash reserves of c$250Bn. A lot of debt might be required, but these things are often leveraged on stock issues/swaps so maybe not?

Ooh, this is quite amusing http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/05/03/8-things-apple-could-do-250bn-cash-pile/

 

[Michael Scrip]

So they are making more TV shows that we can watch on Apple Music?


[doublepost=1504777859][/doublepost]

Would love to see the look on Tim Cook's face one day when he tours one of their new studios, and sees the creative people using PCs and Windows.

I wanna see the look on Tim Cook's face when he asks them why they use PCs and Windows... when the anwser is...

"Your Macs aren't great nowadays... you really lost focus Timmy..."

 

[The Phazer]

Why are they hiring so many people from Sony.... Has Sony had many hits recently? Seems like a pretty good payday for some folks that weren't doing great stuff at Sony studio... though, I could also be ugly mistaken. I do hope that the content gets better, and is more entertaining. Oddly enough, I'm kind of excited about the previous hire from WGN. I actually really enjoy Outsiders. It's a different type of TV show.

Outsiders was made by Sony for WGN...

Sony Pictures Television made Breaking Bad and Community and makes Better Call Saul, The Blacklist, Shark Tank, Preacher, Kevin Can Wait, The Crown, Transparent, The Tick, Outlander etc etc.

They're an enormous television studio. Probably the biggest that isn't owned by a Network.

 

[WatchFromAfar]

I see it as growing pains and learning on the job. Just like how the Apple Watch OS has evolved significantly over the years, ]

The Apple Watch and it's OS didn't evolve over years, it cowed down to public demand. Apple originally saw the fitness smart-watch market as something for low-end players; hell even Microsoft had sub $200 "Microsoft Bands" so they positioned Apple Watch as a luxury, fashion item. This didn't fly so they refocused and admitted "if the public wants fitness watches lets be the best fitness watch out there".

 

[Abazigal]

The Apple Watch and it's OS didn't evolve over years, it cowed down to public demand. Apple originally saw the fitness smart-watch market as something for low-end players; hell even Microsoft had sub $200 "Microsoft Bands" so they positioned Apple Watch as a luxury, fashion item. This didn't fly so they refocused and admitted "if the public wants fitness watches lets be the best fitness watch out there".

You say tomato, I say tomahto.

 

[69650]

This could be the prelude to an Apple subscription based video streaming service to compete with Netflix/Amazon.

 

[Nuvi]

Apple should focus on updating their current products in a timely manner rather than wasting resources by delving into new markets. How many years has it been since the last Mac Pro and Mac Mini updates? Come on!

Creating or more like acquiring original content has nothing to do with development resources of current or future Apple products. The new executives from Warner, Sony etc. are not designing / engineering the next Apple iPhone, Mac or whatever...

 

[deadoctopi]

I'm sure those TV execs would have done great engineering new Macs...

Haha true. But also I wouldn't put it past that Failed Sony Exec, can't be worse at it than is was/is at what her current role is.