CBS rejected Apple TV streaming service offer over revenue split
CBS boss Les Moonves revealed in an earnings call on Thursday that his company had been approached by Apple about a potential streaming TV service that would share ad revenues, but the network declined to strike a deal because it prefers to license its content.
As noted by GigaOm, Moonves, who serves as the company's CEO, made the comments in response to an analyst question on whether CBS would pursue partnerships with "success-based or non-guaranteed" streaming players.
"We've even been against joining Apple TV, which was an advertiser split," SeekingAlpha reported him as saying.
With the rise of online content, CBS has stuck to a strategy of upfront license fees for syndication, the report noted. That approach led the network to keep its distance from Hulu, a joint subscription venture by NBC, Fox and ABC. CBS did, however, recently agree to allow Hulu to air reruns from the CW network, a joint venture with Time Warner. It has also reached similar agreements with Netflix and Amazon.
The licensing route appears to be paying off for CBS for now, as Moonves said on Thursday that the network is already receiving "hundred of millions of dollars" annually from online streaming agreements with possibly even more deals to come. The executive is confident that online viewership will continue to bring in significant money over the years.
Rumors of an Apple subscription TV service have existed for years, but CBS' comments come as the first public confirmation of it. The network reportedly considered a proposal from Apple as early as 2009.
Apple has gradually been adding channels and partners to its Apple TV set-top box. A recent software update added Wall Street Journal Live and National Hockey League content in addition to new features such as Photo Stream and AirPlay Mirroring.
Recent indications have pointed to an upcoming Apple television set with an innovative interface. The late Steve Jobs reportedly told biographer Walter Isaacson that he had "cracked" the concept for a "simple and elegant" connected TV.
Jobs' comments have reignited speculation that Apple will enter the TV market. The New York Times noted late last month that, according to sources, such a device is definitely coming.
As noted by GigaOm, Moonves, who serves as the company's CEO, made the comments in response to an analyst question on whether CBS would pursue partnerships with "success-based or non-guaranteed" streaming players.
"We've even been against joining Apple TV, which was an advertiser split," SeekingAlpha reported him as saying.
With the rise of online content, CBS has stuck to a strategy of upfront license fees for syndication, the report noted. That approach led the network to keep its distance from Hulu, a joint subscription venture by NBC, Fox and ABC. CBS did, however, recently agree to allow Hulu to air reruns from the CW network, a joint venture with Time Warner. It has also reached similar agreements with Netflix and Amazon.
The licensing route appears to be paying off for CBS for now, as Moonves said on Thursday that the network is already receiving "hundred of millions of dollars" annually from online streaming agreements with possibly even more deals to come. The executive is confident that online viewership will continue to bring in significant money over the years.
Rumors of an Apple subscription TV service have existed for years, but CBS' comments come as the first public confirmation of it. The network reportedly considered a proposal from Apple as early as 2009.
Apple has gradually been adding channels and partners to its Apple TV set-top box. A recent software update added Wall Street Journal Live and National Hockey League content in addition to new features such as Photo Stream and AirPlay Mirroring.
Recent indications have pointed to an upcoming Apple television set with an innovative interface. The late Steve Jobs reportedly told biographer Walter Isaacson that he had "cracked" the concept for a "simple and elegant" connected TV.
Jobs' comments have reignited speculation that Apple will enter the TV market. The New York Times noted late last month that, according to sources, such a device is definitely coming.
Comments
100% of nothing is infinitely better than less than 100% of something.
They told us that at MBA school.
CBS boss Les Moonves revealed in an earnings call on Thursday that his company had been approached by Apple about a potential streaming TV service that would share ad revenues, but the network declined to strike a deal because it prefers to license its content.
Sounds like he made the right choice.
100% of nothing is infinitely better than less than 100% of something.
They told us that at MBA school.
"The licensing route appears to be paying off for CBS for now, as Moonves said on Thursday that the network is already receiving "hundred of millions of dollars" annually from online streaming agreements with possibly even more deals to come."
"The licensing route appears to be paying off for CBS for now, as Moonves said on Thursday that the network is already receiving "hundred of millions of dollars" annually from online streaming agreements with possibly even more deals to come."
Oh no! Now I will have to turn on my cable box to ignore CBS.
Run by the 80-year-oldish guy who sued YouTube because they can't stand getting publicity. Who took the Daily Show down, and uses DRM and Flash on his sites because... because he's a stupid old man who doesn't get it.
That's Viacom. Moonves is not 80.
Oh no! Now I will have to turn on my cable box to ignore CBS.
Agreed. The only time I ever find myself tuning to CBS is for NFL and college basketball.
Content is king, and in a few years, I bet these content companies will simply do what Amazon is doing and just borrow Android and tweet it then sell their own tablets with TV streaming services for a subscription fee. There's nothing that can stop them from doing it, they can earn both the Ad revenue and the subscription revenue, 100%, plus the device revenue.
No they won't. The bulk of the money CBS makes is by redistribution through other networks who manage the bandwidth and distribution to its customers.
That's Viacom. Moonves is not 80.
But the old, bad-smelling man who runs Viacom owns CBS.
As Lord Northcliffe quipped a century ago, "News is what somebody somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is advertising." When was the last time any television news program broadcast anything other than the most blatant, self-referential advertising? What we call journalism in America is third-rate propaganda recited by failed actors in order to help morons passively while away their meaningless lives while they wait for their equally meaningless deaths.
Does it really occur to no one that if all of TV news were banned from the Internet tomorrow, the result would be an improvement in the quality of online content?
This obsession with form to the exclusion of all consideration of content is a particular failing of technophiles. These endless discussions of traditional vs. digital media uniformly ignore how completely irrelevant the medium becomes when the content it conveys is uniformly crap.
As Lord Northcliffe quipped a century ago, "News is what somebody somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is advertising." When was the last time any television news program broadcast anything other than the most blatant, self-referential advertising? What we call journalism in America is third-rate propaganda recited by failed actors in order to help morons passively while away their meaningless lives while they wait for their equally meaningless deaths.
Does it really occur to no one that if all of TV news were banned from the Internet tomorrow, the result would be an improvement in the quality of online content?
We are not supposed to mention your name - we are not unique snowflakes - we are the all dancing, all singing crap of the world. The first rule of...
They support a format by bringing their content.
It is a whole new world where it is they who take all the risk.
This obsession with form to the exclusion of all consideration of content is a particular failing of technophiles. These endless discussions of traditional vs. digital media uniformly ignore how completely irrelevant the medium becomes when the content it conveys is uniformly crap.
As Lord Northcliffe quipped a century ago, "News is what somebody somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is advertising." When was the last time any television news program broadcast anything other than the most blatant, self-referential advertising? What we call journalism in America is third-rate propaganda recited by failed actors in order to help morons passively while away their meaningless lives while they wait for their equally meaningless deaths.
Does it really occur to no one that if all of TV news were banned from the Internet tomorrow, the result would be an improvement in the quality of online content?
Do you feel better now? How's your high horse up there?
Run by the 80-year-oldish guy who sued YouTube because they can't stand getting publicity. Who took the Daily Show down, and uses DRM and Flash on his sites because... because he's a stupid old man who doesn't get it.
There is so much stupid shit in this post...
There is so much stupid shit in this post...
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Do you feel better now? How's your high horse up there?
Don't you mean, "how's it up there on your high horse?" Regardless its still freaking funny.