Apple said to be negotiating with TV providers over launch of streaming TV service
Apple reportedly keeps pushing on making a streaming TV service available by Christmas, NY Post reports. Famous Apple deal broker Eddy Cue has been in talks with content providers, many of which have opposed to the company’s efforts to set pricing and control revenue splitting. Quoting one media exec, the publication wrote: “Apple wants everything for nothing,” which is reminiscent of the tech giant’s dealings with music companies and publishers.
The California electronics developer is allegedly seeking to offer channels as applications through such hardware as its Apple TV set-top box. While the company has been rumored to plan on offering channels a la carte, Apple could also release the apps in bundles, with users having to pay an ongoing subscription fee for the content. Distributing content via applications has also become a hallmark of smart TVs, suggesting that Apple may possibly intend to time the launch of a streaming TV service to its rumored Apple TV. While it’s uncertain if the company is even working on the mythical television set, launching a streaming service is claimed to be its priority.
Last November, CBS chief Les Moonves reportedly rejected a deal with Apple, considering its offer to be inconsistent with CBS’s preferred options. Another source claimed that networks were unwilling to go for Apple’s plans to “manage the bandwidth across the TV and broadband pipeline.” The Cupertino device maker also allegedly attempted to get telcos on board, likely with a view to get discounts for customers streaming TV.
In case Apple doesn’t manage to get all the major providers on board, it may still get enough support to launch the service, just like it originally did with iTunes. Despite reluctance of some music labels to drop their CD priority, all the major labels have signed content agreements with Apple. The California tech giant is currently the No.1 music service on the home turf, which Cue is likely to put forward as an argument to TV content providers. Apple has often broken the tradition with its approach to distributing content via iTunes. Despite its success, content providers haven’t show much desire to let Apple change and control the pricing structure and distribution of the content.
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I would buy tickets to this. AAPL will fail at this and it will be their first big failure since Lisa sending the stock plumeting by Fall
Only Steve Jobs could pull this off, he had the biggest balls in the room. The man is irreplaceable and Apple will never be the same. The cable executives will win this one hands down.
The problem is, Apple had leverage with music providers when they were basically the only game in town for legal, paid, digital music distribution. What leverage do they have with video content providers? They already have their content in virtually every American’s home (legally). They don’t need Apple, but Apple needs them.
Allready watch NRK on the go on Iphone/Ipad. But have to use the harmony app to turn on the tv sett when I come home.
But soon…. yeah….. soon….
good luck with that.
when dealing with content providers and cable companies, you are dealing with modern day dinosaurs. These guys would pull the entire world back into the stone age if it meant they could somehow make more money that way.
Exactly. The pricing models are so screwed up it’s not even funny. Until they come up with a reasonable one I will continue to pay $10/month to download all of my TV and movies in HD. TV is released within an hour of the show usually and movies are released weeks before the blurays come out. I’d prefer to pay them for the service, but they don’t offer it.
Correction – I’d prefer to pay the content creators directly
good luck apple trying to get everything of your product
That means it will be country specific!
It looks like everybody is in agreement here. À la carte would be awesome since I only watch a few channels every month. the only problem I see is that streaming would have to be very efficient because everybody doesn’t have access to super high speed Internet especially for HD quality.
Another step towards Apple Global Domination! I would certainly ditch cable for the individual channel preference and mobile capabilities. I have questions about coverage though, would I have to be wifi connected or can I stream on 3G on an iPad, iPhone, etc? I hope the price is right and this works out!
I could live with just Comedy Central, ESPN, and Discovery Channel.
i have been crying for years like a little baby about a la carte cable subscriptions! i think it’s in the industries best interest to do so, people who don’t subscribe to cable now might indeed buy a la carte services then there’s the downside that they’d lose a lot of subscription dollars but the point is, people, namely me are tired of paying $135/month for shit cable that they don’t even watch! i would be MORE than happy to, lets say, pay a $20/mth access fee and then $2.99/$3.99 a month per channel i want! I’d spend about $60/month plus $16 for hbo and i’d still be saving money! lets do this Apple!
The way I see it if I could buy a subscription to Discovery Channel, History Channel and a few others for a few bucks a month a piece then yes.
But if they go for $10 a month per channel it’s lost to me. I won’t pay that because I could not a la carte the channels I want for less than a cable subscription. Imagine the price has to be low enough a month to compete with having thousands of channels a Month for $100.
I imagine it would be similar to the newsstand subscriptions with Siri to find specific show from specific days.
Let me tell you how slighted I feel about my current Apple TV..The worst $100 I spent..They better update the existing ones to stream, im not buying another Apple.
Really? I think mine is the best $100 i’ve spent on a gadget in a long time.
I got one for Christmas and so far I like it, i just wish the original iPad supported Airplay Mirroring. At least my MacBook will once Mountain Lion comes out.
You know, I don’t care about HBO as a channel, but I do want to watch Game of Thrones. What if there was a way just tO subscribe to a show, have it download new episodes as the show up, synch with my player, have liner notes and metadata, etc. you know, JUST LIKE A FRIKEN PODCAST DOES NOW?
I don’t even want CHANNELS. Just give me a solid Netflix replacement so I can dump that clueless company Eddy.
Apple should just work with OTA broadcast stations and stream that content for free like they do with radio stations and offer a DVR icloud service for a fee or free with maybe iAds?. Screw the cable companies. Enough people are cutting the cord and with Netflix and streaming of hundreds of global TV stations on the Apple TV/iTunes, I’m sure the Cable companies will be more willing to negotiate.
I still think a physical TV from Apple is a mythical product along with the smaller iPad.
Apple might still be trying to set up such a service, but there is zero way they can act in spite of the media companies. Apple doesn’t control copyright on the shows and therefore thy can’t just do what they want.
The New York Post has had more than a few articles like this. It’s like thy are trying to out do Digitimes
I’m not gonna hold my breath for all that, but… here’s hoping.
Yeah the last two things can come later and are likely better suited for WWDC when they will likely demo iOS 6 and the new SDK.
I do think that a 1080 Apple TV is certain which means that 1080p iTS content is then fairly likely.
I haven’t subscribed to a cable service in 5 years.
My movie watching in theater has dwindled to not even once a month. What exactly are these idiots doing? They’re losing their customers and watching the ship sink right before their eyes.
the only way Apple is going to break these guys’ stranglehold over content is … buy an independent distribution net. like buy DISH, and even better, Echo Star’s global satellites too. the key choke point is bandwidth. plus the $’s to back up the threat. get them by the balls.
once Apple can threaten global cheap distribution of competing content, the medicos will finally cave in. pick them off one by one.
Apple has the cash. for chrissake, pull the trigger.
The description of Apple’s attitude in dealings with cable companies rings false.
Let’s face it…
Resistance…
Is…
Futile!
Now this sounds like Apple! Funny enough, this is the first report that actually gives me any hope that Apple may release a TV this year and not next. This is a typical Apple strategy (“we’re moving forward, so you can come along or be left behind) and makes me think it very possible of coming true.
If AppleTV is IPTV ready, is cable television set-top box ready, is wifi ready, and occupies a lot less space than most if not all existing cable boxes (etc., etc.) without any need to own MMI’s related patents, then how can Google’s additional rationale to purchase MMI for cable television set-top box patents and GoogleTV rollout be portrayed as a winning strategy?
Just asking.
I honestly don’t see how Apple can do this if the content providers are against it. This is the reason why all other attempts failed. Apple is wealthy, but is it wealthy enough to bend all of the TV and movie industry. Apple will have to at least get one or two onboard and maybe the rest will follow, but that just seems like a longshot. It worked for Apple with the music industry, but it will be outstanding if Apple can do it again. I sincerely hope Apple can pull it off.
It’s Apple’s success in the music industry that has the studios so leery. They are convinced that as long as they can keep Apple and Google out of this arena, they will not lose so much control of the business as the music industry. To me, they are in even worse shape,: I always bought more music than I consumed TV or feature films. They have the added competition from gaming and they are over-valuing their content but they don’t see it that way.
Maybe Steve worked his magic on Disney’s board before his death. That would be a big boost: feature films, TV and sports.
As always, Hollywood is holding back future technology and innovations due to their own greed and selfishness and short-term vision. Hollywood has never done anything to help consumers.
Pretty much. Apple’s number one priority when it makes decisions is the final consumer experience. And, clearly this has payed off in spades. It’s something that doesn’t seem to be a priority for anyone else. It’s why these dinosaur studios will remain short-sighted, greedy, and at the end of the day won’t give a fuck as long as they’re swimming in cash. TV is so broken, but without providers playing nice I don’t see how anything will change anytime soon. I literally haven’t watched a Tv show/movie on my TV for months. I get it all online, because of the flexibility, quality, and the fact that its ad free.
I remember Richard Branson saying some kind words about Steve after his death. It occurred to me at the time that Steve and Apple might be getting input from him. He’s another of those individuals who has figured out how to bypass the barriers to entering a market.
I’m all in!
What would be revolutionary is giving me a flexible series of packages that I can build on.
I love sports so I want a decent amount of sports but only enough to cover my local teams.
I want my cooking shows so that I can laugh at people that drop cakes or burn their food in
front of judges.
I want on demand a la carte options for when I want to try a series out.
Apple is good at getting companies to begin thinking again and get out of being “stuck on stupid”
I’m eager to see what we gain access to.
I have always fought shy of subscription TV services because they don’t offer me the kind of things I like. The same would apply here, but if it is to be “App driven” and you only pay for what you want, it will then depend on content.
I’m a sci-fi buff, if Apple had a channel airing such programmes and films, AND if the ATV3 is 1080p, then I’m in.
Apple may have a lot of money but that money won’t buy the major producers and cable companies.
The “channel as an app” is interesting though.
TV is broken.
500 channels and nothing to watch
You only get 500 channels?