In The News

Apple TV Upgrade: Upside Limited Without Content

September 07, 2015

Apple has been working for some time on a cable killer, and is looking to combine broadcast and select cable networks for a cheaper, better-looking bundle. But that isn’t the extent of the company’s content ambitions: As Variety reported exclusively, the company has even made overtures to execs in Hollywood about producing its own original programming, with the goal of building out a production unit that could one day churn out TV shows or even movies.

But no Apple originals are in the foreseeable future, and negotiations with networks to license channels have been slow-moving, forcing the company to postpone the launch of the service until some time in 2016.

Without that content infusion, Apple TV is just another box — and an expensive one: Numerous leaks point to a base model launch price of $149.

That’s significantly more than the competition, which already has been eating Apple’s lunch with cheap boxes and streaming sticks. Roku, whose entry-level devices retail for just $50, sold 34% of all streaming devices in the U.S. in 2014. Apple TV’s market share was just 13%, according to data from Parks Associates, which also has sales of Google’s Chromecast streaming stick and Amazon’s Fire TV devices surpassing those of Apple’s hockey puck.

Consumers are voting with their wallets, argued Parks Associates research director Barbara Kraus: “If I just want to stream, I can do that with a $35 stick.”

From the article "Apple TV Upgrade: Upside Limited Without Content" by Janko Roettgers.

Previously In The News

Malvern-Based Home Automation Firm Bets Big On Europe

Smart-home technology is building quickly to a multi-billion-dollar business in Western Europe, say market researchers at Parks Associates, and the Malvern-based "Internet of Things" platform develope...

Most U.S. Wearable Owners Use Their Gadgets Daily: Study

The vast majority of fitness tracker and smartwatch owners in the United States use their wearables on a daily basis, according to the latest study from Parks Associates. Approximately 68-percent of f...

Tom's TV repair hangs on, installing outdoor antennas for streamers cutting cable

The heyday of outdoor TV antennas or rabbit ears will never return, experts say. But research firms and the National Association of Broadcasters have noticed the uptick in over-the-air TV antenna hous...

Quarter Of Millennials Are OTT-Only Broadband Households

Nearly a quarter (23%) of Millennial heads of household are OTT only households, higher than the national average of 15% among all U.S broadband households. Parks Associates analysts also note that...

‹
1
2
...
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
...
719
720
›