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

mHealth Looks to Solve the Diabetes Care Management Conundrum

Earlier this year, a report from digital health analyst Parks Associates found that 27 percent of people with a chronic condition want a mobile health device that tracks their health, but a significan...

Smart Home Gadgets Need To Live Together

“We need to look at problems in the home from a holistic perspective and realize it is the value of all these devices working together that will drive adoption of the smart home,” EVRYTHNG senior vice...

Apple Plans Global Launch For Its TV Subscription Service: Report

The tech giant is racing to catch up to the dominant streaming players. Amazon Prime Video is in 200 countries while Netflix is in more than 190 countries. Apple also has a smaller share of the str...

A scan of new data from around the world

According to Parks Associates' research, 72% of non-pay-TV subscribers subscribe to an OTT video service, which is their primary source for content. Just less than half of broadband households in the...

‹
1
2
...
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
...
719
720
›