Editorial: Samsung hasn't copied Apple TV+ yet, but it's only a matter of time

Posted:
in General Discussion edited October 2019
It's not true that Samsung copies absolutely everything Apple ever does. Apart from Apple TV+, though, we're struggling to find another exception -- and there are reasons to think TV won't be safe for long, either.

Even if Samsung didn't ever release a TV service, it's already released TVs
Even if Samsung didn't ever release a TV service, it's already released TVs


You can take Apple's design chops, and you can take its decades of producing slick videos, but there's just one reason the company has really been able to make a television service like Apple TV+. "They're in a billion pockets, y'all."

Oprah Winfrey has now said that several times, and if the fact that Apple has sold so many devices is also why it has enough money to pay for talent, it's this ability reach more people that counts.

With cable channels now seeing much the same decline that they wrought on broadcast networks, the ability to deliver television programming to a growing market is irresistible. You just need a loyal audience, with devices that can stream video, and something for them to watch.

So start your stopwatch. Apple's longtime rival Samsung is surely coming to a screen near you, and soon.

Two companies, both alike

It's easy to point to how both Apple and Samsung have cash in their pockets. They also, for much the same reason, have a very big audience with a lot of devices out there.

Then if Apple is the first to form an actual television drama production studio, still both companies have years up on years of video experience.






It's hard to forget those Samsung video ads mocking Apple for removing the headphone jack, for instance, although it's now also a little hard to find them. Samsung removed those ads when it copied the removal of the headphone jack.

Nonetheless, Samsung has people experienced in shooting and delivering video. It only has them doing shortform pieces, but that's what Apple used to be best at, too.

Irresistible market

Television bases its decisions chiefly on ratings, as in how many people are watching a show. After decades of doing this, you can assume the figures are accurate but no Neilsen estimate algorithm can hold a candle to the precision by which Apple knows how many iPhones it has sold.

Apple may no longer quote iPhone sales figures, and Samsung always optimistically reports numbers of phones made rather than actually sold. But both companies know to the unit how many have been bought.

Television doesn't work like that. All television channels and networks have to look at what's called the reach and the share. These plus the demographics of who is watching, and the bottom-line number of how many people tuned in, is how advertising revenue is calculated.

The reach is how many people are watching any television at all. The share is what proportion is tuned to a particular show.

Samsung removes Growing Up from YouTube channels


Both of these figures have gone down radically over the last decades as television viewing has declined and the number of channels available has ballooned.

Whereas the reach of a smartphone has exploded.

If it's not true that everybody has an iPhone or an Android smartphone, it is true that everybody advertisers want to reach does.

Then if the incredible rise of smartphones is one factor that has persuaded Apple to go into television, the subsequent decline has become another.

Apple is increasingly moving toward providing services rather than solely making devices, and television now seems a great fit.

Right now it's still the case that having your show watchable on an iPhone is a benefit for your show. It's ultimately going to be that doing the same thing is really a benefit to iPhone sales.

Cue Samsung

All of these factors are the same for Samsung. It has the same pull of a large audience, and it has the same push of a need to provide services.

It just hasn't had a model before. For once, Samsung has not had Apple both doing a service and proving it works.

For the moment, it still doesn't. Apple TV+ could flop, but that looks unlikely. Yet Apple TV+ seemed much more of a risk a few years go.

That's when Apple started working on it. That's how long it takes to create a television service that is going to offer over a billion dollars of programming to over a billion devices.

Samsung has yet to find a way to mock Apple TV+ in its adverts, but maybe that's because this time, it's already beginning to copy it.

There have been no leaks of deals with producers. No sign, yet, of Samsung buying up a library of existing shows.

There is sign of streaming video becoming a much fiercer battleground than before. When Apple TV+ was first being worked on, there were plenty cable services such as HBO and online-only offerings such as Hulu, but there were really only two contenders.




Now Netflix and Amazon Prime are about to be joined by Disney+, NBC's Peacock, Apple TV+, and more.

Samsung could be playing a long game and waiting to see which service falters and then just buy it. Yet whether it plans to buy an existing service or create one itself, Samsung is in the same position as Apple. It has the same opportunities and it has the same issues as its rival.

But, it also has something Apple does not. Samsung makes televisions.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 47
    FatmanFatman Posts: 513member
    Fact: These pockets belong to ‘wealthier’ people with higher educations that are willing to spend more money than Android users.
    edited October 2019 radarthekatn2itivguywatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 47
    gcvgcv Posts: 18member
    Samsung probably will offer a knock off of Apple TV. 

    I have been reading about Samsung’s corporate philosophy for years. Not only does Samsung copy Apple products, but the company copies patented designs and technology of several small companies even though it knows it is doing so illegally. That is Samsung’s definition of R&D ( research and development). It researches the ideas of other companies and incorporates that theft into its own products. Samsung does this because it has the financial resources to drag out patent infringement law suits for several years. Smaller companies can’t afford to continue their law suits, so Samsung either reaches a settlement for pennies on the dollar, buys the companies or their technology after driving those companies’ market value into the ground, or simply keeps the lawsuits going for years until the competitors - whose ideas Samsung stole - go bankrupt.  THAT is how Samsung has become a top business in Korea.

    It is a rare thing when Samsung gets into a lawsuit with a company that has comparable financial resources to fight back. That is one way in which I admire Apple. It actively fights back against Samsung's theft of intellectual property. I made myself a vow a few years ago to NEVER buy anything made by Samsung. Doing so only encourages unethical and illegal behavior, but it stifles technology advances and puts other competitors out of business.

    Samsung is a shark who swallows minnows, but with respect to Apple it is two sharks competing for food.
    lkruppchaickaa hawkinslostkiwiradarthekatjahbladeneo-techlolliverravnorodomwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 47
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,415member
    I think Sammy might avoid this craze.    TV streaming streaming is the new "I'm going to create a music store" that would be iTunes competitors trotted out to get their name out there.   Sammy has a great TV business and solid phone business but how do they lock people in?   I'm not buying a Samsung TV, Phone or Tablet just to watch their content.   Hell I don't even really need Apple TV+...I have no idea how Apple is going to sustain its value. 




    cy_starkmanwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 47
    The thing is Samsung generally doesn't do content. They had a music streaming service, but that is shut down. They had something for ebook reading, but that is shut down. Which is kinda crazy to think of since they sell so many phones and tablets that people use to do music and books. It's also worth noting that Samsung is pretty lousy at software. Sure they make software but it isn't well respected. Nobody brags about having a Samsung product because of its software. Ironically Samsung sells a TON of TVs so it might not be an awful idea for them to make content, but I think they also realize that LG, Toshiba and Sony are never ever going to give them space on their smart TVs for an icon. It's also worth noting that while Apple may or may not end up having Apple TV+ be more than a vanity project, the fact is even if they spend ten billion on it a year and never actually make money with it, so long as the content doesn't get a BAD reputation, then it doesn't hurt Apple because they have so much money to burn. Samsung on the other hand literally makes up 17% of South Korea's GDP... think about that for a second. I looked around to see if they own any media companies, but I couldn't tell from a quick glance at Wikipeda. But they do sell life insurance and make shipping boats. Also they already have something called Samsung TV Plus. Apparently you can watch Geek and Sundry on it. :) https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00061521/ I doubt you'll see Samsung create original English content. Selling content isn't going to be a big business for Apple relative to it's other stuff, and it probably wouldn't move the needle for Samsung either.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 47
    This editorial is definitely not your best effort William.  Doesn't seem like a Gallagher piece.  It reads like a DED editorial except it's way, way, waaaaaaaaaaay too short to be from DED.  It's nothing more than tropes strung together to support a tenuous narrative. 
    Apart from ATV+ you can't think of anything Samsung hasn't copied from Apple? 
    If true, you aren't thinking very hard.  They absolutely copied Apple on early iPhones and iPads.  Watch? Nope.  AirPods? Nope.  Modern phones and iPads? Nope.  To base your editorial on Samsung's reliance on past copying is about as relevant as someone writing an editorial in 2019 based on Antennae-gate iPhone 4.
    Apple may no longer quote iPhone sales figures, and Samsung always optimistically reports numbers of phones made rather than actually sold. 
    You gotta source for that little nugget?  Afaik, Samsung never reported their numbers and both companies record their sales in almost the exact same way.  Shipped.

    I seriously doubt Samsung would introduce a streaming service.  They have no reason to do so.  You're right that they have the same large audience that Apple does.  Though they don't have the same need for services that Apple does.  Samsung is a conglomerate with multiple parts.  They rely on different parts at different times to support the whole.  Sometimes phones floats the boat.  Sometimes it chips.  Sometimes it's the S. Korean government easing punishment on Samsung execs.  :D Besides, Samsung is terrible at services and their management seems to know it.  They're a better facilitator. Get all those services on their TV's seems to be a more rational goal for Samsung.

    It would be really surprising if Samsung debuted a streaming service.  On the outside chance they did, I'd bet it would be a local streaming service where they wouldn't be bidding against established players for expensive content.
    gatorguymuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 6 of 47
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,153member
    I think Sammy might avoid this craze.    TV streaming streaming is the new "I'm going to create a music store" that would be iTunes competitors trotted out to get their name out there.   Sammy has a great TV business and solid phone business but how do they lock people in?   I'm not buying a Samsung TV, Phone or Tablet just to watch their content.   Hell I don't even really need Apple TV+...I have no idea how Apple is going to sustain its value. 




    I agree. Samsung really isn't much of a services company. They've dabbled a few times (ie Milk Music) but it's not any focus of theirs and seems of little interest. Sammy is a massive hardware company playing in a whole lotta fields beyond TV's and smartphones, not a services one. 
    muthuk_vanalingamradarthekat
  • Reply 7 of 47
    Safe?  Samsung is the best thing that ever happened to Apple.  They offer a dramatic comparison, soak up all the losses and provide a huge base of future Apple customers.
    radarthekatwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 47
    I’m not seeing the dots to connect...

    Samsung doesn’t do software well.  They have Tizen... Ever see it on a phone in person?

    Does Samsung have an office suite?  Or, create any other software for Android?  They rely on Google (3rd Party)... because they lack the ability.

    Why is Apple TV+ any different?  Does Samsung have deep connections with Hollywood?  Film or movie producers that use Samsung’s software?

    Apple TV+ is an ambitious project to produce content.  Samsung isn’t going to do that.  They might try to package your regular TV channels for Samsung devices...but that’s it.  

    Samsung duplicating Apple TV+ is as likely as a cat barking like a dog.

    muthuk_vanalingamstevenozradarthekatwilliamlondon
  • Reply 9 of 47
    chaickachaicka Posts: 257member
    gcv said:
    Samsung probably will offer a knock off of Apple TV. 

    I have been reading about Samsung’s corporate philosophy for years. Not only does Samsung copy Apple products, but the company copies patented designs and technology of several small companies even though it knows it is doing so illegally. That is Samsung’s definition of R&D ( research and development). It researches the ideas of other companies and incorporates that theft into its own products. Samsung does this because it has the financial resources to drag out patent infringement law suits for several years. Smaller companies can’t afford to continue their law suits, so Samsung either reaches a settlement for pennies on the dollar, buys the companies or their technology after driving those companies’ market value into the ground, or simply keeps the lawsuits going for years until the competitors - whose ideas Samsung stole - go bankrupt.  THAT is how Samsung has become a top business in Korea.

    It is a rare thing when Samsung gets into a lawsuit with a company that has comparable financial resources to fight back. That is one way in which I admire Apple. It actively fights back against Samsung's theft of intellectual property. I made myself a vow a few years ago to NEVER buy anything made by Samsung. Doing so only encourages unethical and illegal behavior, but it stifles technology advances and puts other competitors out of business.

    Samsung is a shark who swallows minnows, but with respect to Apple it is two sharks competing for food.
    Go deeper into their 'DNA' and you know the history of its origins, how it started to undercut Japanese technologically more advance. Like you have shared, Samsung is not new to the game of copying. But that's the previous decade or two. Now comes others who are up and rising to do similarly but at much lower cost than Samsung. Make a   guess who these new bred are...  :D Give them a few more years and Samsung will have a good taste of its own doings.
    radarthekatjahblade15ngcs1watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 47
    chaickachaicka Posts: 257member

    The thing is Samsung generally doesn't do content. They had a music streaming service, but that is shut down. They had something for ebook reading, but that is shut down. Which is kinda crazy to think of since they sell so many phones and tablets that people use to do music and books. It's also worth noting that Samsung is pretty lousy at software. Sure they make software but it isn't well respected. Nobody brags about having a Samsung product because of its software.
    Bingo. Samsung, even after more than a decade, still is pretty lousy in software development, esp. for non-Korean language/UI. There are very good reasons being so and those reasons are well entrenched into its DNA.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 47
    Apple TV “the morning show”

    Samsung TV “the evening show”

    Apple TV “see”

    samsung TV “Look”

    Apple TV “amazing stories”

    samsung TV “fantasy stories”

    Apple TV “Oprah’s book club”

    samsung TV “Gangnam Style Comics”
    Rayz2016StrangeDays15ngcs1entropyswatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 47
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    Does the Apple TV+ app run on any Samsung TVs yet? Could that be what Samsung is planning? And could Samsung make some money by doing that, either from Apple directly or from advertisers who are eager to listen in to what Samsung TV users are watching on Apple TV+? (Samsung's TVs are Smart TVs can can find a way to listen in to what its users are watching on its Apple TV+ service.)
  • Reply 13 of 47
    gcv said:
    I have been reading about Samsung’s corporate philosophy for years. Not only does Samsung copy Apple products, but the company copies patented designs and technology of several small companies even though it knows it is doing so illegally. That is Samsung’s definition of R&D ( research and development). It researches the ideas of other companies and incorporates that theft into its own products.
    I have been working at Samsung’s R&D. Your knowledge is not correct. 

    Samsung doesn’t do software well.  They have Tizen... Ever see it on a phone in person?
    It has nothing to do with software quality. Tizen works well enough in watches, TVs, and even vacuums. 

    By the way, I’m an iPhone user. Just in case you’re going to accuse me of being a Samsung fan ;)
  • Reply 14 of 47
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    Samsung only knows how to copy. That talent doesn’t work with content streaming. They can’t copy Apple’s home brew TV shows exactly. 
    edited October 2019 15ngcs1lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 47
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,821member
    This editorial is definitely not your best effort William.  Doesn't seem like a Gallagher piece.  It reads like a DED editorial except it's way, way, waaaaaaaaaaay too short to be from DED.  It's nothing more than tropes strung together to support a tenuous narrative. 
    Apart from ATV+ you can't think of anything Samsung hasn't copied from Apple? 
    If true, you aren't thinking very hard.  They absolutely copied Apple on early iPhones and iPads.  Watch? Nope.  AirPods? Nope.  Modern phones and iPads? Nope.  To base your editorial on Samsung's reliance on past copying is about as relevant as someone writing an editorial in 2019 based on Antennae-gate iPhone 4.
    Love it when when the critics have to turn onto the writers when they don't like what is being said. 

    Samsung has copied far too many things to even count, from products to OS, UI elements, icons, chargers, store designs, etc etc. They even pre-copied the Watch by rushing their crapola to market on the rumors of the AW. Failboat ensure (remember the creepy ad of an incel stalking his prey on the sky slopes, snapping secret photos of her on his Samsung watch? lol).

    As for the iPhone 4, there was no issue. Data from AT&T showed an insignificant difference in call drops from the 3GS, but people weren't used to seeing the bars go down when their meat-bags performed a death grip on the external antenna. Jobs showed the data and that competitor products did the same thing. The real proof? They continued selling the 4 as-is for years.
    radarthekatwilliamlondon15ngcs1apres587lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 47
    Fatman said:
    Fact: These pockets belong to ‘wealthier’ people with higher educations that are willing to spend more money than Android users.
    fact: more television is watched by people with lower educations and less money.

    sounds like both google and samsung are missing a huge opportunity
    agilealtitudeSoliwatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 47
  • Reply 18 of 47
    You're forgetting that Samsung bought, and then sadly killed off, the really excellent Boxee platform! I'm surprised they didn't do anything with it yet.
    anantksundaram
  • Reply 19 of 47
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,153member
    Fatman said:
    Fact: These pockets belong to ‘wealthier’ people with higher educations that are willing to spend more money than Android users.
    fact: more television is watched by people with lower educations and less money.

    sounds like both google and samsung are missing a huge opportunity
    Google has a TV service, YouTubeTV
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 20 of 47
    I give Apple TV+ a year.  It will go the way of the Newton, Ping, and the iPod Hifi speaker.  Samsung won't touch this.
    williamlondon
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