Transformative for Apple; for the rest of us not so much. We started out with TV and movies being controlled by a number of big studios who won't let us buy a la carte. So Apple, Netflix, Amazon, and others will become the new big studios and not allow us to see the other guy's stuff. New players; same old game.
Interesting times no doubt. I wouldn't know what to do if I was in charge, which is why I am not! Original content is a dicey game...a lot of money with no return at times. I wonder about some kind of first look deal backed by tons of cash with anyone and everyone. But that's not feasible because of previous contracts I suppose. Buying studios seems so 1990's. I really have no idea what the 'right' move would be andI'm not 100% sure they NEED to own content.
Apple doesn't have to own it. They need exclusivity, and if contributing to the budget of an original program exclusive to their platform assists with that, then so much the better. Netflix offers plenty of original exclusive programming that they don't own. Case in point, Apple may be looking at the Jetsons which is owned by Warner Bros. and could be produced by them, for exclusive distribution by Apple. In which case, Warner would retain the IP, saving Apple a bundle in production costs and license fees, while offering the exclusive viewing of the property via iTunes via a period of time, if not indefinitely. Apple could actually develop a much better model than even Netflix or Amazon by not going it alone, or investing in production properties and IPs they don't need. There could even be a bigger partnership in the works like a merged Time Warner/ATT with a partnership with Apple for distribution of DirecTV and other licensed content over AppleTV, as ATT is currently promoting. And more ...
Apple is a product company first and foremost. Their services business as it exists today, with exception of Apple Music to a degree, is pulled along by the product. Apple is not a services company, but they have a great services business. So any new services should be thought about in that manner.
Don't know why people are burring up at this statement. It is true. Well, mostly true. People don't buy high margin Apple products because they like the stuff on iTunes. Apple is a hardware company, the services are there to sell hardware, where the profit is. Services like video content are available elsewhere, and this is the thing, it is low margin. Sure Apple makes $50b from services. But it is the tail of the Apple brontosaurus (may not be the best analogy, but I am trying to portray bigness in both the tail and even more, the beast overall). Apple can make $50b much more easily by updating its hardware.
Apple is the magical combination of beautiful, high end hardware married to perfectly matched software and services that produces a product greater than the whole. To do that you don't spend all your time on services and neglect the core product. Even Tim Cook should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. That is what he is supposedly paid the big bucks for.
On the Netflix issue, why on earth would Apple buy that? Netflix is less than it was a year ago from a overseas user perspective because the content suppliers forced a crackdown on people getting around geoblocking (accessing any version of Netflix around the world demonstrates how crippled by the content providers even the US version of Netflix is). The ever present threat of content providers taking their product away from Netflix is why it is moving into its own content.
A much better solution is to find a way for providers to seamlessly integrate Netflix and similar into apple hardware. And make sure the Netflix app is the best Netflix app on any device. Ditto with any Netflix competitor. One hell of a lot cheaper and weds those providers closely to the Apple platform without the stupid MBA compulsion to buy them.
As Apple executives are busying looking to do business in Hollywood, entertainment industry insiders are scratching their heads over who, exactly, is driving the effort.
“Robert Kondrk, Eddy Cue, Jimmy Iovine, everyone is trying to be the person,” one insider told The Post. “They each want to be the guy, and they’re telling people, don’t deal with the other one.”
So glad I blocked him. Someone said he could be twelve for all they know. I wouldn't be so generous.
I'm starting to think he's actually not a real person. I think he might be an AI staffer who posts brain-melting drivel to drive forum clicks. No one, in real life, could be that dull and one-dimensional.
SERIOUS mission drift that will be gone in 5 years or less. What an embarrassingly suicidal waste of money and resources. Viewers are way, WAY too fickle to make this worthwhile.
How many fortune firms have you managed? This will help me weight your opinion accordingly.
As Apple executives are busying looking to do business in Hollywood, entertainment industry insiders are scratching their heads over who, exactly, is driving the effort.
“Robert Kondrk, Eddy Cue, Jimmy Iovine, everyone is trying to be the person,” one insider told The Post. “They each want to be the guy, and they’re telling people, don’t deal with the other one.”
Yes, Business Insider is quoting the New York Post, which is little more than a comic. One of their sources is someone "familiar with Apple's thinking". Well, I'm sold.
Actually, we've seen an uptick in reports concerning Apple's alleged inability to close deals. These reports coincide with an increased effort by investment banks to get their greasy little fingers into Apple's strategic purchases. And it's not just about the percentage they take on closing such deals; the last thing they want is for other companies to think that they can plan corporate takeovers without investment bankers creaming off the top.
I know Gruber a couple of times has agreed with this guy but I find the guy unreadable. And his podcast is the worst. He talks so slowly as if he's dispensing Yoda-like wisdom when he's really rambling incessantly the same point over and over as if to see how many times he can say the same sentence using different words. His analysis always starts from the assumption Apple is doing exactly the right thing and goes from there. He clearly owns AAPL. I can't take his stuff. His analysis bores me to death.
The questions isn't does Apple need to buy Netflix. The question is why after seven years since Apple TV first launched does Apple still not have a viable film and TV content strategy? They rely on third parties to give them their content. How does that get people to buy the Apple device over someone else's? Every new content producer wants to be on Netflix. Apple should be that guy. Apple having more meetings. Yeah and I've a 6' grey beard. Enough talk. Prove it!!
As Apple executives are busying looking to do business in Hollywood, entertainment industry insiders are scratching their heads over who, exactly, is driving the effort.
“Robert Kondrk, Eddy Cue, Jimmy Iovine, everyone is trying to be the person,” one insider told The Post. “They each want to be the guy, and they’re telling people, don’t deal with the other one.”
Yeah except that doesn't sound believable at all -- Apple knows how to build a vision and pursue it singularly.
I know Gruber a couple of times has agreed with this guy but I find the guy unreadable. And his podcast is the worst. He talks so slowly as if he's dispensing Yoda-like wisdom when he's really rambling incessantly the same point over and over as if to see how many times he can say the same sentence using different words. His analysis always starts from the assumption Apple is doing exactly the right thing and goes from there. He clearly owns AAPL. I can't take his stuff. His analysis bores me to death.
The questions isn't does Apple need to buy Netflix. The question is why after seven years since Apple TV first launched does Apple still not have a viable film and TV content strategy? They rely on third parties to give them their content. How does that get people to buy the Apple device over someone else's? Every new content producer wants to be on Netflix. Apple should be that guy. Apple having more meetings. Yeah and I've a 6' grey beard. Enough talk. Prove it!!
He point was clear -- Apple is the platform, and Netflix already runs on the platform. As does HBO, Hulu, ShowTime, et all. Why does Apple need its own video content to sell more platform when the platform already runs the content?
I know Gruber a couple of times has agreed with this guy but I find the guy unreadable. And his podcast is the worst. He talks so slowly as if he's dispensing Yoda-like wisdom when he's really rambling incessantly the same point over and over as if to see how many times he can say the same sentence using different words. His analysis always starts from the assumption Apple is doing exactly the right thing and goes from there. He clearly owns AAPL. I can't take his stuff. His analysis bores me to death.
The questions isn't does Apple need to buy Netflix. The question is why after seven years since Apple TV first launched does Apple still not have a viable film and TV content strategy? They rely on third parties to give them their content. How does that get people to buy the Apple device over someone else's? Every new content producer wants to be on Netflix. Apple should be that guy. Apple having more meetings. Yeah and I've a 6' grey beard. Enough talk. Prove it!!
He point was clear -- Apple is the platform, and Netflix already runs on the platform. As does HBO, Hulu, ShowTime, et all. Why does Apple need its own video content to sell more platform when the platform already runs the content?
To differentiate. Why both x company's box when every box has that content and those functions at the same price.
I know Gruber a couple of times has agreed with this guy but I find the guy unreadable. And his podcast is the worst. He talks so slowly as if he's dispensing Yoda-like wisdom when he's really rambling incessantly the same point over and over as if to see how many times he can say the same sentence using different words. His analysis always starts from the assumption Apple is doing exactly the right thing and goes from there. He clearly owns AAPL. I can't take his stuff. His analysis bores me to death.
The questions isn't does Apple need to buy Netflix. The question is why after seven years since Apple TV first launched does Apple still not have a viable film and TV content strategy? They rely on third parties to give them their content. How does that get people to buy the Apple device over someone else's? Every new content producer wants to be on Netflix. Apple should be that guy. Apple having more meetings. Yeah and I've a 6' grey beard. Enough talk. Prove it!!
Apple does have exclusive deals with content providers, but mainly in terms of initial streaming debut, they have not necessarily locked up any exclusive content. This is a phenomenon that for Netflix, Hulu and Amazon has only recently taken off and proven itself as a way to draw customers. Cable and Premium cable services were previously reaping the rewards of this strategy. Apple has taken its usual cautious approach to such trends and if it follows its MO, will introduce a new paradigm which will set the industry scrambling to copy. That said, they clearly realize that original programming deals are an important draw to building a platform that otherwise can't be distinguished from the competition. They don't have to own the stuff, just have long term exclusivity to it. Whether anyone believes it or not, I can confirm in a limited way that there is seemingly some confusion within the industry as to what Iovine is doing, and what authority he has, which for me lends some credence to the story that there may be an internal struggle. All of that is unfortunate but not insurmountable. I've heard similar stories from Netflix insiders, yet it's not necessarily reflected in their success, nor does it necessarily reflect on Apple's ability to succeed. Either way, they are absolutely moving in an essential direction to help establish their platform as a choice destination and not just another delivery method. It's clear there's too much resistance within the industry to hand their hopes on offering a revolutionary, reasonably priced, a la cart programming package, so they need to have other ways to draw in customers to the platform until they can hammer out the complex deals to give them an advantage over all the other streaming platforms, as they did with iTunes.
I know Gruber a couple of times has agreed with this guy but I find the guy unreadable. And his podcast is the worst. He talks so slowly as if he's dispensing Yoda-like wisdom when he's really rambling incessantly the same point over and over as if to see how many times he can say the same sentence using different words. His analysis always starts from the assumption Apple is doing exactly the right thing and goes from there. He clearly owns AAPL. I can't take his stuff. His analysis bores me to death.
The questions isn't does Apple need to buy Netflix. The question is why after seven years since Apple TV first launched does Apple still not have a viable film and TV content strategy? They rely on third parties to give them their content. How does that get people to buy the Apple device over someone else's? Every new content producer wants to be on Netflix. Apple should be that guy. Apple having more meetings. Yeah and I've a 6' grey beard. Enough talk. Prove it!!
He point was clear -- Apple is the platform, and Netflix already runs on the platform. As does HBO, Hulu, ShowTime, et all. Why does Apple need its own video content to sell more platform when the platform already runs the content?
To differentiate. Why both x company's box when every box has that content and those functions at the same price.
I know Gruber a couple of times has agreed with this guy but I find the guy unreadable. And his podcast is the worst. He talks so slowly as if he's dispensing Yoda-like wisdom when he's really rambling incessantly the same point over and over as if to see how many times he can say the same sentence using different words. His analysis always starts from the assumption Apple is doing exactly the right thing and goes from there. He clearly owns AAPL. I can't take his stuff. His analysis bores me to death.
The questions isn't does Apple need to buy Netflix. The question is why after seven years since Apple TV first launched does Apple still not have a viable film and TV content strategy? They rely on third parties to give them their content. How does that get people to buy the Apple device over someone else's? Every new content producer wants to be on Netflix. Apple should be that guy. Apple having more meetings. Yeah and I've a 6' grey beard. Enough talk. Prove it!!
He point was clear -- Apple is the platform, and Netflix already runs on the platform. As does HBO, Hulu, ShowTime, et all. Why does Apple need its own video content to sell more platform when the platform already runs the content?
To differentiate. Why both x company's box when every box has that content and those functions at the same price.
The differentiation is to be the best platform to view the content, regardless of the content distributor. if a product is only one part of your rather extensive menu you will never work as hard at it as if it was the only food you sold. Let the netflixes of the world be beholden to the content providers. None of this would preclude Apple also being a content provider, but I doubt it would ever be as focussed on it as Netflix has to be. Apple could live if an original content venture failed. Netflix could not.
Apple could, CAN, actually, announce a Apple Movie Awards for movies shot with iPhones, awarding, say, US$10 million. Plus an Oscarl-like award chosen by the top cream of Hollywood, and a ceremony to match it. This would be transformative. And the hell of an earthquake in the movie industry. And you guys know Apple has the power to do it, if Apple wants to.
As Apple executives are busying looking to do business in Hollywood, entertainment industry insiders are scratching their heads over who, exactly, is driving the effort.
“Robert Kondrk, Eddy Cue, Jimmy Iovine, everyone is trying to be the person,” one insider told The Post. “They each want to be the guy, and they’re telling people, don’t deal with the other one.”
Yeah except that doesn't sound believable at all -- Apple knows how to build a vision and pursue it singularly.
Oh, and BI.
BI got it from the NY Post. Somebody leaked to them. Bloomberg also reported that Apple execs would be in the middle of an Apple Music deal and then find out that Jimmy Iovine was doing his own negotiating that nobody knew about.
As far as the vision thing, what exactly is the vision of Apple Watch? It clearly has changed since the watch first launched. Out are the high end watches and pop up shops at expensive retailers. The focus now is almost 100% fitness related. That's not a singular vision.
Comments
Don't know why people are burring up at this statement. It is true. Well, mostly true. People don't buy high margin Apple products because they like the stuff on iTunes. Apple is a hardware company, the services are there to sell hardware, where the profit is. Services like video content are available elsewhere, and this is the thing, it is low margin.
Sure Apple makes $50b from services. But it is the tail of the Apple brontosaurus (may not be the best analogy, but I am trying to portray bigness in both the tail and even more, the beast overall). Apple can make $50b much more easily by updating its hardware.
Apple is the magical combination of beautiful, high end hardware married to perfectly matched software and services that produces a product greater than the whole. To do that you don't spend all your time on services and neglect the core product. Even Tim Cook should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. That is what he is supposedly paid the big bucks for.
A much better solution is to find a way for providers to seamlessly integrate Netflix and similar into apple hardware. And make sure the Netflix app is the best Netflix app on any device. Ditto with any Netflix competitor. One hell of a lot cheaper and weds those providers closely to the Apple platform without the stupid MBA compulsion to buy them.
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-looking-to-buy-tv-shows-and-studios-2017-3
Actually, we've seen an uptick in reports concerning Apple's alleged inability to close deals. These reports coincide with an increased effort by investment banks to get their greasy little fingers into Apple's strategic purchases. And it's not just about the percentage they take on closing such deals; the last thing they want is for other companies to think that they can plan corporate takeovers without investment bankers creaming off the top.
https://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2017/2/21/apple-doesnt-need-to-buy-netflix
The questions isn't does Apple need to buy Netflix. The question is why after seven years since Apple TV first launched does Apple still not have a viable film and TV content strategy? They rely on third parties to give them their content. How does that get people to buy the Apple device over someone else's? Every new content producer wants to be on Netflix. Apple should be that guy. Apple having more meetings. Yeah and I've a 6' grey beard. Enough talk. Prove it!!
Oh, and BI.
None of this would preclude Apple also being a content provider, but I doubt it would ever be as focussed on it as Netflix has to be. Apple could live if an original content venture failed. Netflix could not.
As far as the vision thing, what exactly is the vision of Apple Watch? It clearly has changed since the watch first launched. Out are the high end watches and pop up shops at expensive retailers. The focus now is almost 100% fitness related. That's not a singular vision.