iTunes Chief Eddy Cue Says Apple Will Share Details on its TV Plans in 'a Little Bit of Time'

[mtneer]

When did anyone ask for Apple to produce content?

Because they paid billions to bring in the likes of Dre and Iovine (albeit Iovine is supposedly heading out soon?)...

 

[Average Pro]

When rumors swirled about an Apple TV, the first thing that went through my mind was how they were going to fix/remove the cable box and remote which were complex and cumbersome. Fast forward to today and I would argue that Apple no longer needs to worry about that. The responsibility now falls on the cable company to make their content and service fit Apple's TV. I cut my cable in 2015. Since then it's been Apple TV and an HD antenna.

 

[sanjuro21]

They've been saying that for the last 10 years

I know, right!? It's like...

 

[jadot]

The long awaited Apple TV content plan? They should've bought Netflix years ago with their massive cash pile.

Surely Netflix works because it's not planted in a walled garden. If Apple buy Netflix, chances are it won't be as successful because Apple would more than likely have to pull it in under iOS, TVOS, and MacOS. Think about that.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

What does he actually DO at Apple, exactly?

 

[truthertech]

No. They don't support Smooth Streaming with Playready which a lot of studios want to use as their DRM. Their services and products are not platform agnostic.

I think you are a little confused about this. Smooth streaming with Playready is not a Netflix technology, it's Microsoft's. Apple and anyone can license it from MSFT. In fact, it's not a feature as much as something that studios demanded Netflix use to protect their content before they let Netflix license their content.

If it were so easy, why is Apple losing out? Why is everyone talking about the latest Netflix series? It certainly is being undervalued by Apple, given the recent outbid by HBO on JJ Abrams' sci-fi drama.

Apple isn't losing out, they haven't been in the game before. Apple tried, and failed, to get sufficient content providers, to agree to licensing deals so that Apple could offer a compelling on-demand package for a reasonable monthly rate. Fearing Apple's marketing prowess and customer relationships threatened their existing models, not enough companies would participate. This has forced Apple to pivot and start developing their own "original" content. The content companies will rue this short sided decision in the long run, as they have forced Apple, the richest company in the world, into being a competitor for the same product they are buying- talent.

In the end, Amazon, HBO, Apple, Netflix, Sony, and soon Disney, etc., are largely just bidding for the same talent, producers, production companies, studios, etc., to produce content for them or signing licensing deals. That's why Netflix is in a precarious position. Folks don't realize, but, for example, House of Cards was licensed content and Netflix didn't even have European rights to stream it there. Netflix recently lost their rights to stream Marvel content as Disney preps their own service, as another example. None of this is to suggest Netflix is danger of going under in the short term, but they are in a "desperate" race to get enough of their own content to remain viable. When you are bidding against the wealthiest companies on the planet, the cost is going up rapidly, but Netflix is trapped with a model that is entirely subscription funded. They can't simply keep raising rates or they risk losing subscribers. Apple, Amazon, etc., have multiple other revenue streams.

T[/QUOTE

 

[cmaier]

Surely Netflix works because it's not planted in a walled garden. If Apple buy Netflix, chances are it won't be as successful because Apple would more than likely have to pull it in under iOS, TVOS, and MacOS. Think about that.

Why? Apple music and iTunes are available on other platforms.

 

[ipponrg]

Smooth streaming with Playready is not a Netflix technology, it's Microsoft's.

Which requires specific engineers/personnel in getting it set up right. One might argue they can throw endless cash at personnel, but there is no guarantee that qualified people will go to Apple. If that were the case, their machine learning, first party apps, and services would be much better than it is right now.

Apple isn't losing out, they haven't been in the game before.

Which is a big problem. They don't have the experience to quickly walk through the Hollywood landscape. The moves they have made in the last 5 years have demonstrated this: unable to sign contracts, showcasing poor first party content, etc. Apple is the extreme underdog here, and I think a lot of content providers rather have their content be available to everyone. There is hardly any gain for being exclusive to Apple currently.

Folks don't realize, but, for example, House of Cards was licensed content and Netflix didn't even have European rights to stream it there. Netflix recently lost their rights to stream Marvel content as Disney preps their own service, as another example.

Which is why they have started their own studios. Everyone in the industry knows content is king, but content also comes at a price.

Netflix is trapped with a model that is entirely subscription funded. They can't simply keep raising rates or they risk losing subscribers. Apple, Amazon, etc., have multiple other revenue streams.

They have been raising rates recently, and seem to be doing fine still. You actually want a subscription based service as oppose to a'la carte anyways. Many streaming companies are now focusing on reducing their memory footprint to increase their profits higher.

 

[truthertech]

Which requires specific engineers/personnel in getting it set up right. One might argue they can throw endless cash at personnel, but there is no guarantee that qualified people will go to Apple. If that were the case, their machine learning, first party apps, and services would be much better than it is right now.

Remember, when you are in a hole, stop digging. It's beyond crazy to suggest that Apple needs to buy Netflix to get access to Smooth Stream from MSFT, or that they need some monumental engineering effort to use it. First, MSFT has already designed it for Apple devices (see the technical article below if that clears things up), but beyond that, but beyond that, the idea that Apple's engineers would be sitting around scratching their heads on how to set up a routine piece of licensed software that many companies use and be helpless if Netflix engineers didn't defect is equally bizarre.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/ii...e-http-live-streaming-with-iis-media-services

 

[Rogifan]

Here’s what Tim Cook should do: take all the non-content areas (like iCloud, pro apps) away from Eddy Cue, change his title to SVP Apple Entertainment and move him to LA. Then create an SVP for cloud/services and either promote someone from within or poach someone from Google, Microsoft or Amazon.

 

[ipponrg]

the idea that Apple's engineers would be sitting around scratching their heads on how to set up a routine piece of licensed software that many companies use and be helpless if Netflix engineers didn't defect is equally bizarre.

I don't think they need Netflix engineers for this per se, but you have a common misconception about how "easy" video is. Disclaimer: I work in the industry as an engineer in these stacks. The article you linked to is just a How To for the most simplistic case. Most streaming services do not have simple use cases.