It sounds like I am in the same boat as a few of you. We dumped cable TV about 3 years ago and use a combination of Netflix and an over the air antenna for our TV needs. We have a DVR setup on our iMac to record network shows that we want. It works well for us.
I would like to see the networks and cable companies open their eyes and realize that their old model is not going to work in the very near future. I am not sure that Apple's solution is the right one, but I feel strongly that the current model is dying before our eyes.
The old model SHOULD die, but it's not going to in the medium term. The problem is that both the cable companies (MSOs) and the content companies (cable networks) are at fault. Many cable networks charge by the cable subscriber, regardless of whether that subscriber actually watches the channel. I believe the Yankees Network charges $3 per subscriber per month. It's no wonder our cable bills keep rising.
I think it's time that both the cable networks and the MSOs realize that this model is unsustainable. IMO, they have to move to an "ala-carte" system, where each channel is worth so many points (with many of the advertising-driven, but low-value channels at 0 points) and consumers can pick any channels they want, with different discount levels as you purchase more points. However, if this happened, I think many of the more useless cable channels would disappear (not necessarily a bad thing).
The only reason I haven't given up cable as yet is because I receive so many discounts for getting both cable-TV and cable-modem web service together, my ISP bill would rise substantially if I killed the cable portion.
The renewal negotiations between the MSOs and the cable networks are frequently contentious and channels are frequently lost for various periods because they're both so freaking stubborn. Apple could negotiate with each of the cable networks to get the same content the MSOs do, but that will be a mighty endeavor in a 400 channel world. Also, the national MSOs will freak out - Comcast and Time-Warner will not pay the channels the same rates if they have to compete with Apple. Besides, let's say you drop your cable sub because Apple is supplying the content. But chances are, your ISP is either that same cable company or one of their competitors. So when all that extra data starts coming down the pipe, you know they're going to raise your rates and they'll simply make up for the lost cable subscription revenue with data revenue. So we'll be back to where we were, albeit with a better user-interface.
Cable companies frequently sell TIVO and other such devices, so it's not unreasonable to believe that they would sell an Apple set-top box. The question is what Apple gets out of it. I don't think they're in this to sell the hardware - they want to own the eco-system as they've done before.
Comments
Originally Posted by libertyforall
…the big new iOS 6 features for ATV?
No YouTube.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fizzmaster
It sounds like I am in the same boat as a few of you. We dumped cable TV about 3 years ago and use a combination of Netflix and an over the air antenna for our TV needs. We have a DVR setup on our iMac to record network shows that we want. It works well for us.
I would like to see the networks and cable companies open their eyes and realize that their old model is not going to work in the very near future. I am not sure that Apple's solution is the right one, but I feel strongly that the current model is dying before our eyes.
The old model SHOULD die, but it's not going to in the medium term. The problem is that both the cable companies (MSOs) and the content companies (cable networks) are at fault. Many cable networks charge by the cable subscriber, regardless of whether that subscriber actually watches the channel. I believe the Yankees Network charges $3 per subscriber per month. It's no wonder our cable bills keep rising.
I think it's time that both the cable networks and the MSOs realize that this model is unsustainable. IMO, they have to move to an "ala-carte" system, where each channel is worth so many points (with many of the advertising-driven, but low-value channels at 0 points) and consumers can pick any channels they want, with different discount levels as you purchase more points. However, if this happened, I think many of the more useless cable channels would disappear (not necessarily a bad thing).
The only reason I haven't given up cable as yet is because I receive so many discounts for getting both cable-TV and cable-modem web service together, my ISP bill would rise substantially if I killed the cable portion.
The renewal negotiations between the MSOs and the cable networks are frequently contentious and channels are frequently lost for various periods because they're both so freaking stubborn. Apple could negotiate with each of the cable networks to get the same content the MSOs do, but that will be a mighty endeavor in a 400 channel world. Also, the national MSOs will freak out - Comcast and Time-Warner will not pay the channels the same rates if they have to compete with Apple. Besides, let's say you drop your cable sub because Apple is supplying the content. But chances are, your ISP is either that same cable company or one of their competitors. So when all that extra data starts coming down the pipe, you know they're going to raise your rates and they'll simply make up for the lost cable subscription revenue with data revenue. So we'll be back to where we were, albeit with a better user-interface.
Cable companies frequently sell TIVO and other such devices, so it's not unreasonable to believe that they would sell an Apple set-top box. The question is what Apple gets out of it. I don't think they're in this to sell the hardware - they want to own the eco-system as they've done before.